2 Corinthians 7

1 Having therefore these promises, beloved friends, let us purify ourselves from all defilement of body and of spirit, and secure perfect holiness through the fear of God.

With these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that pollutes either body or spirit, and, in deepest reverence for God, aim at perfect holiness.

2 Make room for us in your hearts. There is not one of you whom we have wronged, not one to whom we have done harm, not one over whom we have gained any selfish advantage.

Make room for us in your hearts. In no instance have we ever wronged, or harmed, or taken advantage of, any one.

3 I do not say this to imply blame, for, as I have already said, you have such a place in our hearts that we would die with you or live with you.

I am not saying this to condemn you. Indeed, I have already said that you are in our very heart, to live and die together.

4 I have great confidence in you: very loudly do I boast of you. I am filled with comfort: my heart overflows with joy amid all our affliction.

I have the utmost confidence in you; I am always boasting about you. I am full of encouragement and, in spite of all our troubles, my heart is overflowing with happiness.

5 For even after our arrival in Macedonia we could get no relief such as human nature craves. We were greatly harassed; there were conflicts without and fears within.

Ever since we reached Macedonia, we have had no rest in body or mind; on every side there have been troubles — conflicts without, anxieties within.

6 But He who comforts the depressed--even God-- comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not by his coming only,

But God, who encourages the downcast, has encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

7 but also by the fact that he had felt comforted on your account, and by the report which he brought of your eager affection, of your grief, and of your jealousy on my behalf, so that I rejoiced more than ever.

And it is not only by his arrival that we are encouraged, but also by the encouragement which he received from you; for he tells us of your strong affection, your penitence, and your zeal on my behalf — so that I am happier still.

8 For if I gave you pain by that letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it then. I see that that letter, even though for a time it gave you pain, had a salutary effect.

For, though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I were inclined to regret it — for I see that my letter did cause you sorrow though only for a time —

9 Now I rejoice, not in your grief, but because the grief led to repentance; for you sorrowed with a godly sorrow, which prevented you from receiving injury from us in any respect.

I am glad now; not because of the sorrow it caused you, but because your sorrow brought you to repentance. For it was God’s will that you should feel sorrow, in order that you should not suffer loss in any way at our hands.

10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, a repentance not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world finally produces death.

For, when sorrow is in accordance with God’s will, it results in a repentance leading to Salvation, and which will never be regretted. The sure result of the sorrow that the world knows is Death.

11 For mark the effects of this very thing--your having sorrowed with a godly sorrow--what earnestness it has called forth in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing affection, what jealousy, what meting out of justice! You have completely wiped away reproach from yourselves in the matter.

For see what results that other sorrow — sorrow in accordance with God’s will — has had in your case. What earnestness it produced! what explanations! what strong feeling! what alarm! what longing! what eagerness! what readiness to punish! You have proved yourselves altogether free from guilt in that matter.

12 Therefore, though I wrote to you, it was not to punish the offender, nor to secure justice for him who had suffered the wrong, but it was chiefly in order that your earnest feeling on our behalf might become manifest to yourselves in the sight of God.

So, then, even though I did write to you, it was not for the sake of the wrong-doer, or of the man who was wronged, but to make you conscious, in the sight of God, of your own earnest care for us. And it is this that has encouraged us.

13 For this reason we feel comforted; and--in addition to this our comfort--we have been filled with all the deeper joy at Titus's joy, because his spirit has been set at rest by you all.

In addition to the encouragement that this gave us, we were made far happier still by the happiness of Titus for his heart has been cheered by you all.

14 For however I may have boasted to him about you, I have no reason to feel ashamed; but as we have in all respects spoken the truth to you, so also our boasting to Titus about you has turned out to be the truth.

Although I have been boasting a little to him about you, you did not put me to shame; but, just as every thing we had said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus about you has also proved to be the truth.

15 And his strong and tender affection is all the more drawn out towards you when he recalls to mind the obedience which all of you manifested by the timidity and nervous anxiety with which you welcomed him.

And his affection for you is all the greater, as he remembers the deference that you all showed him, and recalls how you received him with anxious care.

16 I rejoice that I have absolute confidence in you.

I am glad that I can feel perfect confidence in you.