2 Corinthians 7
1 My friends, whom I love, because [God] has promised [to accept us(inc) as his children], we [(inc)] must stop doing anything that is sinful. We must not do sinful things with our bodies, and we must not [think] sinful thoughts. [Because] we greatly revere God, we must strive to [live] a completely pure life. By doing that we will become the kind of people that he wants us to be.
In possesso dunque di queste promesse, carissimi, purifichiamoci da ogni macchia della carne e dello spirito, portando a compimento la nostra santificazione, nel timore di Dio.
2 So, as I just wrote, I want you to love me (OR, us [IDM] [who are true apostles of Christ]). I/we [(exc)] have never done anything wrong to any of you. I/we have not done anything to harm any one of you spiritually or financially. And I/we have not tried to get money from [you] (for myself/for ourselves).
Fateci posto nei vostri cuori! A nessuno abbiamo fatto ingiustizia, nessuno abbiamo danneggiato, nessuno abbiamo sfruttato.
3 [It is true that some people among you have said that I have done such things. Nevertheless], I am not trying to make you all feel ashamed because, as I wrote before, I will continue to love you all very much [IDM], whether I live with you or die with you. I am very confident about you.
Non dico questo per condannare qualcuno; infatti vi ho gia detto sopra che siete nel nostro cuore, per morire insieme e insieme vivere.
4 I am very pleased with you. You have greatly encouraged me, so that I am now very joyful in spite of all the hardships that I have endured.
Sono molto franco con voi e ho molto da vantarmi di voi. Sono pieno di consolazione, pervaso di gioia in ogni nostra tribolazione.
5 Now [I will write more about what I was saying about Titus]. When I [left Troas and] came [here to] Macedonia [province], I still did not get any rest. Everywhere we [(exc)] went, [people were constantly] causing us trouble. [And not only were] people [constantly causing us] trouble, but I was greatly concerned [about you all].
Infatti, da quando siamo giunti in Macedonia, la nostra carne non ha avuto sollievo alcuno, ma da ogni parte siamo tribolati: battaglie all'esterno, timori al di dentro.
6 But God, who always encourages his people when they are discouraged, encouraged us by [sending] Titus back to us.
Ma Dio che consola gli afflitti ci ha consolati con la venuta di Tito,
7 I was encouraged by [seeing] Titus, [but when I heard how] you had encouraged him, that encouraged me even more. He told me how much you wanted [to see me. He told me] that you were very sorry [that you had made me so unhappy. He also told me] that you are very eager for me [to continue to serve as your apostle. When Titus told me those things], I was very, very happy.
e non solo con la sua venuta, ma con la consolazione che ha ricevuto da voi. Egli ci ha annunziato infatti il vostro desiderio, il vostro dolore, il vostro affetto per me; cosicché la mia gioia si è ancora accresciuta.
8 Even though what [I wrote] in my letter (distressed you/made you sad), I am not sorry [that I wrote it]. For a while I was sorry that I had written it, [because I knew that it would distress you]. Now [Titus has also told] me that it did distress you [when you read it], but you were distressed only for a short time.
Se anche vi ho rattristati con la mia lettera, non me ne dispiace. E se me ne è dispiaciuto - vedo infatti che quella lettera, anche se per breve tempo soltanto, vi ha rattristati -
9 [So now] I am happy [that I wrote it]. I am not happy that you were distressed {that [I] distressed you}, but [I am happy] because, when you became distressed, you felt sorry for what you had done and [you asked God to forgive you. What I mean is that you felt sorry in the way that God wanted you to feel sorry, so my making] you feel sorry did not harm you at all.
ora ne godo; non per la vostra tristezza, ma perché questa tristezza vi ha portato a pentirvi. Infatti vi siete rattristati secondo Dio e così non avete ricevuto alcun danno da parte nostra;
10 [The fact is that] when God causes [us to feel] truly sorry for having sinned and we turn from our sinful behavior, then God saves us [and will not punish us for the sinful things that we have done]. And no one is ever sorry about that. [However], the people who do not trust [in God] [MTY] may be sorry [for the sinful things that they have done]. But [if they do not turn from their sinful behavior and ask God to forgive them], they will remain separated from him forever.
perché la tristezza secondo Dio produce un pentimento irrevocabile che porta alla salvezza, mentre la tristezza del mondo produce la morte.
11 But [think about what happened when you read my letter]: God caused you to be truly sorry [for what you had done]. You eagerly [wanted to do what was right], and you wanted to show [God] (OR, [me]) that you had done the right thing. You were angry [about what had happened], and you were worried [that God would punish you if the situation continued]. You also wanted me [to visit you to encourage and help you]. You wanted me to know [that you really do accept me as your apostle, and that you punished the man who had sinned, as I told you to do. By doing] all of those things, you have shown [me] that you have done what is right in this matter.
Ecco, infatti, quanta sollecitudine ha prodotto in voi proprio questo rattristarvi secondo Dio; anzi quante scuse, quanta indignazione, quale timore, quale desiderio, quale affetto, quale punizione! Vi siete dimostrati innocenti sotto ogni riguardo in questa faccenda.
12 So, even though I wrote that [severe] letter to you, I did not [write it just] so that [you would punish] the man who had done what was wrong. Also, I [did not write it] for the benefit of the person whom [he] had wronged. Instead, [I wrote it] so that, when you [read the letter], God would enable you to realize how much you really do respect [my authority].
Così se anche vi ho scritto, non fu tanto a motivo dell'offensore o a motivo dell'offeso, ma perché apparisse chiara la vostra sollecitudine per noi davanti a Dio.
13 So, [because you listened to me and did what I asked you to do], (I was/we [(exc)] were all) encouraged. Not only (was I/were we) encouraged, but (I was/we [(exc)] were) [also] very happy to see how happy Titus was [when he arrived here. He told me/us that] he did not need to worry any more, because [he saw] that you all [had a good attitude toward me].
Ecco quello che ci ha consolati. A questa nostra consolazione si è aggiunta una gioia ben più grande per la letizia di Tito, poiché il suo spirito è stato rinfrancato da tutti voi.
14 I had told Titus that I was pleased about you. And I did not need to be ashamed [for feeling that way about you, because you did what I knew that you would do]. Just like everything that I have taught you [and written to you] has been the truth, the good things that I told Titus about you were also true.
Cosicché se in qualche cosa mi ero vantato di voi con lui, non ho dovuto vergognarmene, ma come abbiamo detto a voi ogni cosa secondo verità, così anche il nostro vanto con Tito si è dimostrato vero.
15 Now he happily remembers how you all [were willing to] do [what I asked you to do]. He is [also happy about the way you] treated him with great respect. [When he thinks about those things], [it makes] him love you even more [than he did when he was with you].
E il suo affetto per voi è cresciuto, ricordando come tutti gli avete obbedito e come lo avete accolto con timore e trepidazione.
16 [As for me], I am very happy [because now] I am certain that I can depend on you [to do what you know God wants you to do].
Mi rallegro perché posso contare totalmente su di voi.
