1 ¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.

To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Acha'ia:

1 ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. - Paul's Thanksgiving after Affliction  2Cor.1.3-11

1 ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 1 ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 1 ⁵ For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 1 ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 1 ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

1 ⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. 1 ⁹ Why, we felt that we had received the sentence of death; but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead; 1 ¹⁰ he delivered us from so deadly a peril, and he will deliver us; on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 1 ¹¹ You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers. - Postponement of Paul's Visit  2Cor.1.12-2.4

1 ¹² For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have behaved in the world, and still more toward you, with holiness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God. 1 ¹³ For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand; I hope you will understand fully, 1 ¹⁴ as you have understood in part, that you can be proud of us as we can be of you, on the day of the Lord Jesus.

1 ¹⁵ Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double pleasure; 1 ¹⁶ I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedo'nia, and to come back to you from Macedo'nia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 1 ¹⁷ Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans like a worldly man, ready to say Yes and No at once? 1 ¹⁸ As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. 1 ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we preached among you, Silva'nus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No; but in him it is always Yes. 1 ²⁰ For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God. 1 ²¹ But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; 1 ²² he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

1 ²³ But I call God to witness against me - it was to spare you that I refrained from coming to Corinth. 1 ²⁴ Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.

2 ¹ For I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. 2 ² For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 2 ³ And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 2 ⁴ For I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. - Forgiveness for the Offender  2Cor.2.5-11

2 ⁵ But if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure - not to put it too severely - to you all. 2 ⁶ For such a one this punishment by the majority is enough; 2 ⁷ so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 2 ⁸ So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 2 ⁹ For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 2 ¹⁰ Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 2 ¹¹ to keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his designs. - Paul's Anxiety and Relief  2Cor.2.12-17

2 ¹² When I came to Tro'as to preach the gospel of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord; 2 ¹³ but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedo'nia.

2 ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 2 ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 2 ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word; but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. - Ministers of the New Covenant  2Cor.3.1-18

3 ¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 3 ² You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on your hearts, to be known and read by all men; 3 ³ and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

3 ⁴ Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 3 ⁵ Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 3 ⁶ who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life.

3 ⁷ Now if the dispensation of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such splendor that the Israelites could not look at Moses' face because of its brightness, fading as this was, 3 ⁸ will not the dispensation of the Spirit be attended with greater splendor? 3 ⁹ For if there was splendor in the dispensation of condemnation, the dispensation of righteousness must far exceed it in splendor. 3 ¹⁰ Indeed, in this case, what once had splendor has come to have no splendor at all, because of the splendor that surpasses it. 3 ¹¹ For if what faded away came with splendor, what is permanent must have much more splendor.

3 ¹² Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 3 ¹³ not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not see the end of the fading splendor. 3 ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened; for to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 3 ¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; 3 ¹⁶ but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed. 3 ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 3 ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - Treasure in Earthen Vessels  2Cor.4.1-15

4 ¹ Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 4 ² We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 4 ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. 4 ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 4 ⁶ For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

4 ⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. 4 ⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 4 ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 4 ¹⁰ always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 4 ¹¹ For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 4 ¹² So death is at work in us, but life in you.

4 ¹³ Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, 4 ¹⁴ knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 4 ¹⁵ For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. - Living by Faith  2Cor.4.16-5.10

4 ¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. 4 ¹⁷ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 4 ¹⁸ because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

5 ¹ For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 5 ² Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, 5 ³ so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. 5 ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

5 ⁶ So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 5 ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight. 5 ⁸ We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 5 ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 5 ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body. - The Ministry of Reconciliation  2Cor.5.11-6.13

5 ¹¹ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men; but what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 5 ¹² We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who pride themselves on a man's position and not on his heart. 5 ¹³ For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 5 ¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 5 ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

5 ¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. 5 ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 5 ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 5 ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 5 ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 5 ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

6 ¹ Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. 6 ^{2 [ Is.49.8. ]} For he says,

6 ³ We put no obstacle in any one's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 6 ⁴ but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 6 ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger; 6 ⁶ by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, 6 ⁷ truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 6 ⁸ in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 6 ⁹ as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 6 ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

6 ¹¹ Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. 6 ¹² You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 6 ¹³ In return - I speak as to children - widen your hearts also. - The Temple of the Living God  2Cor.6.14-7.1

6 ¹⁴ Do not be mismated with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 6 ¹⁵ What accord has Christ with Be'lial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 6 ^{16 [ Lv.26.12, Jr.32.38, Eze.37.27. ]} What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

7 ¹ Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God. - Paul's Joy at the Church's Repentence  2Cor.7.2-16

7 ² Open your hearts to us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 7 ³ I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 7 ⁴ I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. With all our affliction, I am overjoyed.

7 ⁵ For even when we came into Macedo'nia, our bodies had no rest but we were afflicted at every turn - fighting without and fear within. 7 ⁶ But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 ⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.

7 ⁸ For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it (though I did regret it), for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 7 ⁹ As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting; for you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 7 ¹⁰ For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. 7 ¹¹ For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves guiltless in the matter. 7 ¹² So although I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on account of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your zeal for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 7 ¹³ Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his mind has been set at rest by you all. 7 ¹⁴ For if I have expressed to him some pride in you, I was not put to shame; but just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting before Titus has proved true. 7 ¹⁵ And his heart goes out all the more to you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, and the fear and trembling with which you received him. 7 ¹⁶ I rejoice, because I have perfect confidence in you. - Liberal Giving  2Cor.8.1-15

8 ¹ We want you to know, brethren, about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedo'nia, 8 ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part. 8 ³ For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, 8 ⁴ begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints - 8 ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. 8 ⁶ Accordingly we have urged Titus that as he had already made a beginning, he should also complete among you this gracious work. 8 ⁷ Now as you excel in everything - in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in your love for us - see that you excel in this gracious work also.

8 ⁸ I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 8 ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 8 ¹⁰ And in this matter I give my advice: it is best for you now to complete what a year ago you began not only to do but to desire, 8 ¹¹ so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 8 ¹² For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he has not. 8 ¹³ I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, 8 ¹⁴ but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality. 8 ^{15 [ Ex.16.18. ]} As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack." - Titus and His Companions  2Cor.8.16-24

8 ¹⁶ But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 8 ¹⁷ For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. 8 ¹⁸ With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel; 8 ¹⁹ and not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work which we are carrying on, for the glory of the Lord and to show our good will. 8 ²⁰ We intend that no one should blame us about this liberal gift which we are administering, 8 ^{21 [ Pr.3.4. ]} for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of men. 8 ²² And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 8 ²³ As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker in your service; and as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 8 ²⁴ So give proof, before the churches, of your love and of our boasting about you to these men. - The Offering for the Saints  2Cor.9.1-15

9 ¹ Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the offering for the saints, 9 ² for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedo'nia, saying that Acha'ia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 9 ³ But I am sending the brethren so that our boasting about you may not prove vain in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; 9 ⁴ lest if some Macedo'nians come with me and find that you are not ready, we be humiliated - to say nothing of you - for being so confident. 9 ⁵ So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren to go on to you before me, and arrange in advance for this gift you have promised, so that it may be ready not as an exaction but as a willing gift.

9 ⁶ The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 9 ^{7 [ Pr.22.8. ]} Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 9 ⁸ And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. 9 ^{9 [ Ps.112.9. ]} As it is written,