2 Corinthians 7

1 Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Loved ones, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves of everything that makes us unclean in our body and spirit. Let us pursue holiness in the fear of God.

2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.

Make room for us! We have not wronged anyone. We have not harmed anyone or taken advantage of anyone.

3 I do not say this to condemn you. I have said before that you so occupy our hearts that we live and die together with you.

It is not to condemn you that I say this. For I have already said that you are in our hearts, for us to die together and to live together.

4 Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride in you; I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows.

I have great confidence in you, and I am proud of you. I am filled with comfort. I overflow with joy even in all our afflictions.

5 For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction—conflicts on the outside, fears within.

When we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way by conflicts on the outside and fears on the inside.

6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,

But God, who comforts the discouraged, comforted us by the arrival of Titus.

7 and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.

It was not only by his arrival that God comforted us. It was also by the comfort that Titus had received from you. He told us of your great affection, your sorrow, and your deep concern for me. So I rejoiced even more.

8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it, I now see that my letter caused you sorrow, but only for a short time.

Even though my letter made you sad, I do not regret it. But I did regret it when I saw that my letter made you sad. But you were sad just for a little while.

9 And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.

Now I rejoice, not because you were distressed, but because your sadness brought you to repentance. You experienced a godly sorrow, so you suffered no loss because of us.

10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

For godly sorrow brings about repentance that accomplishes salvation without regret. Worldly sorrow, however, brings about death.

11 Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

See what great determination this godly sorrow produced in you. How great was the determination in you to prove you were innocent. How great was your indignation, your fear, your longing, your zeal, and your desire to see that justice should be done! In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong or the one who was harmed, but rather that your earnestness on our behalf would be made clear to you in the sight of God.

Although I wrote to you, I did not write for the sake of the wrongdoer, nor for the one who suffered the wrong, but so that your good will toward us should be made known to you in the sight of God.

13 On account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of Titus. For his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.

It is by this that we are encouraged. In addition to our own comfort, we also rejoiced even more because of Titus' joy, because his spirit was refreshed by all of you.

14 Indeed, I was not embarrassed by anything I had boasted to him about you. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved to be true as well.

For if I boasted to him about you, I was not embarrassed. On the contrary, just as everything we said to you was true, our boasting about you to Titus proved to be true.

15 And his affection for you is even greater when he remembers that you were all obedient as you welcomed him with fear and trembling.

His affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of all of you, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling.

16 I rejoice that I can have complete confidence in you.

I rejoice because I have complete confidence in you.