⁵ But I ^(A)will come to you after I go through ^(B)Macedonia, for I ^(C)am going through Macedonia; ⁶ and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you may ^(D)send me on my way wherever I may go. ⁷ For I do not wish to see you now ^(E)just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, ^(F)if the Lord permits.

Introduction

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^(C)by the will of God, and ^(D)Timothy our brother,

To ^(E)the church of God which is at ^(F)Corinth with all the ^[a]saints who are throughout ^(G)Achaia:

^2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^(J)God of all comfort, ⁴ who ^(K)comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ^[b]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For just ^(L)as the sufferings of Christ are ^[c]ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. ⁶ But if we are afflicted, it is ^(M)for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; ⁷ and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that ^(N)as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

⁸ For ^(O)we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our ^(P)affliction which came to us in ^[d](Q)Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; ^9 [e]indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; ¹⁰ who ^(R)delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, ^[f]He ^(S)on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, ¹¹ you also joining in ^(T)helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by ^(U)many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Integrity

¹² For our ^[g]proud confidence is this: the testimony of ^(V)our conscience, that in holiness and ^(W)godly sincerity, ^(X)not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. ¹³ For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand ^(Y)until the end; ¹⁴ just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, in ^(Z)the day of our Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ In this confidence I intended at first to ^(AA)come to you, so that you might ^[h]twice receive a ^[i](AB)blessing; ^16 [j]that is, to ^(AC)pass ^[k]your way into ^(AD)Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be ^(AE)helped on my journey to Judea. ¹⁷ Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose ^(AF)according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? ¹⁸ But as ^(AG)God is faithful, ^(AH)our word to you is not yes and no. ¹⁹ For ^(AI)the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and ^(AJ)Silvanus and ^(AK)Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes ^(AL)in Him. ²⁰ For ^(AM)as many as are the promises of God, ^(AN)in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is ^(AO)our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who ^(AP)establishes us with you in Christ and ^(AQ)anointed us is God, ²² who also ^(AR)sealed us and ^(AS)gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a ^[l]pledge.

²³ But ^(AT)I call God as witness ^[m]to my soul, that ^(AU)to spare you I did not come again to ^(AV)Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we ^(AW)lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are ^(AX)standing firm.

Reaffirm Your Love

2 But I determined this ^[n]for my own sake, that I ^(AY)would not come to you in sorrow again. ² For if I ^(AZ)cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? ³ This is the very thing I ^(BA)wrote you, so that ^(BB)when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having ^(BC)confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. ⁴ For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I ^(BD)wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

⁵ But ^(BE)if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—^[o]in order not to say too much—to all of you. ⁶ Sufficient for such a one is ^(BF)this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, ⁷ so that on the contrary you should rather ^(BG)forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ For to this end also ^(BH)I wrote, so that I might ^[p](BI)put you to the test, whether you are ^(BJ)obedient in all things. ¹⁰ But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes ^(BK)in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that no advantage would be taken of us by ^(BL)Satan, for ^(BM)we are not ignorant of his schemes.

¹² Now when I came to ^(BN)Troas for the ^(BO)gospel of Christ and when a ^(BP)door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ I ^(BQ)had no rest for my spirit, not finding ^(BR)Titus my brother; but ^(BS)taking my leave of them, I went on to ^(BT)Macedonia.

^14 (BU)But thanks be to God, who always ^(BV)leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the ^(BW)sweet aroma of the ^(BX)knowledge of Him in every place. ¹⁵ For we are a ^(BY)fragrance of Christ to God among ^(BZ)those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ^16 (CA)to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is ^(CB)adequate for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not like many, ^[q](CC)peddling the word of God, but ^(CD)as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ ^(CE)in the sight of God.