2 Corinthians
Chapter 7
1 So with these promises, dear friends, let’s clean ourselves from every dirty thing of body and spirit, making our holiness complete by respecting God.
2 Accept us; we have not wronged anyone, we have not corrupted anyone, we have not cheated anyone.
3 I am not saying this to blame you: I have already told you that you are so dear to us, we would happily live or die with you.
4 I speak to you with great confidence, and I take great pride in you. I am filled with comfort and am very happy, even during our troubles.
5 When we arrived in Macedonia, we had no peace. We faced problems everywhere; there were conflicts outside and fears inside.
6 God, who comforts the discouraged, cheered us up with Titus’s arrival.
7 Not just his arrival, but also the comfort he got from you made me happy, as he shared your strong desire, your sadness, and your warm feelings for me; this made me even happier.
8 Even though my letter made you sad, I don’t regret it, even though I did feel sorry before. I see now that the letter made you sad, but only for a little while.
9 I’m glad not because you were upset, but because your sadness led to change. Your sorrow was for the right reasons, so it didn’t harm you because of us.
10 Feeling truly sorry for our wrongs leads to a change of heart that brings us to be saved, and we won’t regret it; but worldly sadness only leads to death.
11 Look at how seriously you took your sadness, leading to earnestness, a desire to clear yourselves, anger at wrong, fear of doing wrong, strong longing to do right, passion for truth, and a determination to make things right! You have shown that you are innocent in this matter.
12 I wrote to you not because of the person who did wrong, or the person who was wronged, but to show you our concern for you before God.
13 So we were cheered up by your encouragement and even more happy about Titus’s joy, because you all made him feel better.
14 If I have praised you to him, I am not embarrassed; just as everything we told you was true, our praises to Titus about you are also true.
15 His deep feelings for you are very strong as he remembers how all of you obeyed and welcomed him with respect and nervousness.
16 I am happy because I trust you in everything.