2 Corinthians 7

1 Having, then, these promises, beloved, may we cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God;

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.

2 receive us; no one did we wrong; no one did we ruin; no one did we defraud;

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

3 I do not say [it] to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together;

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.

4 great [is] my freedom of speech to you, great my glory on your behalf; I have been filled with the comfort, I hyper-abound with the joy on all our tribulation,

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

5 for we also, having come to Macedonia, our flesh has had no relaxation, but on every side we are in tribulation: fightings outside, fears within;

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

6 but He who is comforting the cast-down—God—He comforted us in the coming of Titus;

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

7 and not only in his coming, but also in the comfort with which he was comforted over you, declaring to us your longing desire, your lamentation, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced the more,

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.

8 because even if I made you sorry in the letter, I do not regret—if even I regretted—for I perceive that the letter, even if for an hour, made you sorry.

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.

9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you were made sorry to conversion, for you were made sorry toward God, that you might receive damage from us in nothing;

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.

10 for sorrow toward God works conversion to salvation without regret, and the sorrow of the world works death,

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

11 for behold, this same thing—your being made sorry toward God—how much diligence it works in you! But defense, but displeasure, but fear, but longing desire, but zeal, but revenge; in everything you approved yourselves to be pure in the matter.

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.

12 If, then, I also wrote to you—not for his cause who did wrong, nor for his cause who suffered wrong, but for our diligence in your behalf being revealed to you before God—

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.

13 because of this we have been comforted in your comfort, and more abundantly the more we rejoiced in the joy of Titus, that his spirit has been refreshed from you all;

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.

14 because if I have boasted anything to him in your behalf, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke to you all things in truth, so also our boasting before Titus became truth,

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.

15 and his yearnings are more abundantly toward you, remembering the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling;

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

16 I rejoice, therefore, that in everything I have courage in you.

I rejoice that I can have complete confidence in you.