Paul, ^aan apostle of ^bChrist Jesus ^cby the will of God, and our brother ^dTimothy,

To ^ethe church of God which is at ^fCorinth with all the ¹saints who are throughout ^gAchaia:

2 ^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 ^aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^bGod of all comfort, 4 who ^acomforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ¹any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just ^aas the sufferings of Christ are ¹ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is ^afor 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 ^aas you are partners in our sufferings, so also you are in our comfort.

8 For ^awe do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our ^baffliction which occurred in ^1cAsia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 ¹Indeed, 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 ^arescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He ^1bon whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 if you also join in ^ahelping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by ^bmany persons in our behalf for the favor granted to us through the prayers of many.

12 For our ¹proud confidence is this: the testimony of ^aour conscience, that in holiness and ^bgodly sincerity, ^cnot 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 ^auntil the end; 14 just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, on ^athe day of our Lord Jesus.

15 In this confidence I intended at first to ^acome to you, so that you might ¹twice receive a ^2bblessing; 16 ¹that is, to ^apass ²your way into ^bMacedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be ^chelped on my journey to Judea. 17 Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I decide, do I decide ^aaccording to the flesh, so that with me there will be ¹yes, yes and no, no at the same time? 18 But as ^aGod is faithful, ^bour word to you is not yes and no. 19 For ^athe Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and ^bSilvanus and ^cTimothy—was not yes and no, but has been yes ^din Him. 20 For ^aas many as the promises of God are, ^bin Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is ^cour Amen to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who ^aestablishes us with you in Christ and ^banointed us is God, 22 who also ^asealed us and ^bgave us the Spirit in our hearts as a ¹pledge.

23 But ^aI call God as witness to my soul, that it was ^bto spare you that I did not come again to ^cCorinth. 24 Not that we ^adomineer over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are ^bstanding firm.

Paul, ^aan apostle of ^bChrist Jesus ^cby the will of God, and ^dTimothy our brother,

To ^ethe church of God which is at ^fCorinth with all the ¹saints who are throughout ^gAchaia:

2 ^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 ^aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^bGod of all comfort, 4 who ^acomforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ¹any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just ^aas the sufferings of Christ are ¹ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is ^afor 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 ^aas you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

8 For ^awe do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our ^baffliction which came to us in ^1cAsia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 ¹indeed, 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 ^adelivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, ¹He ^bon whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in ^ahelping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by ^bmany persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.

12 For our ¹proud confidence is this: the testimony of ^aour conscience, that in holiness and ^bgodly sincerity, ^cnot 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 ^auntil 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 ^athe day of our Lord Jesus.

15 In this confidence I intended at first to ^acome to you, so that you might ¹twice receive a ^2bblessing; 16 ¹that is, to ^apass ²your way into ^bMacedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be ^chelped 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 ^aaccording to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? 18 But as ^aGod is faithful, ^bour word to you is not yes and no. 19 For ^athe Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and ^bSilvanus and ^cTimothy—was not yes and no, but is yes ^din Him. 20 For ^aas many as are the promises of God, ^bin Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is ^cour Amen to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who ^aestablishes us with you in Christ and ^banointed us is God, 22 who also ^asealed us and ^bgave us the Spirit in our hearts as a ¹pledge.

23 But ^aI call God as witness ¹to my soul, that ^bto spare you I did not come again to ^cCorinth. 24 Not that we ^alord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are ^bstanding firm.

Paul, ^aan apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of ^bChrist Jesus (the Messiah) ^cby the will of God, and ^dTimothy our brother,

To ^ethe church of God which is at ^fCorinth, and to all the ¹saints (God’s people) throughout ^gAchaia (southern Greece) :

2 ^aGrace to you and peace inner calm and spiritual well-being from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 ^aBlessed gratefully praised and adored be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the ^bGod of all comfort, 4 who ^acomforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just ^aas Christ’s sufferings are ours in abundance as they overflow to His followers, so also our comfort our reassurance, our encouragement, our consolation is abundant through Christ it is truly more than enough to endure what we must. 6 But if we are troubled and distressed, it is ^afor your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted and encouraged, it is for your comfort, which works in you when you patiently endure the same sufferings which we ¹experience. 7 And our ¹hope for you our confident expectation of good for you is firmly grounded assured and unshaken, since we know that ^ajust as you share as partners in our sufferings, so also you share as partners in our comfort.

8 For ^awe do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about ¹our ^btrouble in the west coast province of ^cAsia Minor, how we were utterly weighed down, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we had received the sentence of death and were convinced that we would die, but this happened so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. 10 He ^arescued us from so great a threat of death, and will continue to rescue us. ^bOn Him we have set our hope. And He will again rescue us from danger and draw us near, 11 while you join in ^ahelping us by your prayers. Then thanks will be given by ^bmany persons on our behalf for the gracious gift of deliverance granted to us through the prayers of many believers.

12 This is our reason for proud confidence: ^aour conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world in general, and especially toward you, with pure motives and ^bgodly sincerity, ^cnot in human wisdom, but in the grace of God that is, His gracious lovingkindness that leads people to Christ and spiritual maturity. 13 For we write you nothing other than what you read and understand there is no double meaning in what we say. And I hope you will accurately understand divine things ^auntil the end; 14 just as you have already partially understood us, and one day will recognize that you can be proud of us just as we are of you, in ^athe day of our Lord Jesus.

15 It was with this confidence that I planned at first to ^avisit you, so that you might receive twice a ^btoken of grace; 16 that is, I wanted to ^avisit you on my way to ^bMacedonia, and then to come back to you on my return from Macedonia, and have you ^csend me on my way to Judea. 17 So then, was I indecisive or capricious when I was originally planning this? Or the things I plan, do I plan ^1ain a self-serving way like a worldly man, ready to say, “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 But as surely as ^aGod is faithful and means what He says, ^bour message to you is not “Yes” and “No” at the same time. 19 For ^athe Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, ^bSilvanus, and ^cTimothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but has proved to be “Yes” ^din Him true and faithful, the divine “Yes” affirming God’s promises. 20 For ^aas many as are the promises of God, ^bin Christ they are all answered “Yes.” So through Him we say ^cour “Amen” to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who ^aestablishes and confirms us in joint fellowship with you in Christ, and who has ^banointed us empowering us with the gifts of the Spirit; 22 it is He who has also ^aput His seal on us that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His and has ^bgiven us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a pledge like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life.

23 But ^aI call on God as my soul’s witness, that it was ^bto spare you pain and discouragement that I did not come again to ^cCorinth— 24 not that we ^arule like dictators over your faith, but rather we work with you for the increase of your joy; for in your faith you ^bstand firm in your strong conviction that Jesus of Nazareth—the Messiah—is the Son of God, through whom we obtain eternal salvation.

Paul, ^aan apostle of ^bChrist Jesus ^cby the will of God, and ^dTimothy our brother,

To ^ethe church of God which is at ^fCorinth with all the ¹saints who are throughout ^gAchaia:

2 ^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 ^aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^bGod of all comfort, 4 who ^acomforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ¹any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just ^aas the sufferings of Christ abound to us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 But whether we are afflicted, it is ^afor your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is working in your perseverance in the same sufferings which we also suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that ^aas you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

8 For ^awe do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of our ^baffliction which came to us in ^1cAsia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even to live. 9 ¹Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not have confidence in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who ^arescued us from so great a peril of death, and will rescue us, ¹He ^bon whom we have set our hope. And He will yet rescue us, 11 you also joining in ^ahelping us through your prayers on our behalf, so that thanks may be given on our behalf by ^bmany persons for the gracious gift bestowed on us through the prayers of many.

12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of ^aour conscience, that in ¹holiness and ^bgodly sincerity, ^cnot 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 ^auntil the end, 14 just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason for boasting as you also are ours, in ^athe day of our Lord Jesus.

15 And in this confidence I intended at first to ^acome to you, so that you might receive ^1bgrace twice; 16 ¹that is, to ^apass ²your way into ^bMacedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be ^chelped on my journey to Judea. 17 Therefore, was I vacillating when I intended to do this? Or what I purpose, do I purpose ^aaccording to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? 18 But as ^aGod is faithful, ^bour word to you is not yes and no. 19 For ^athe Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and ^bSilvanus and ^cTimothy—was not yes and no, but has become yes ^din Him. 20 For ^aas many as are the promises of God, ^bin Him they are yes. Therefore also through Him is ^cour Amen to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who ^aestablishes us with you in Christ and ^banointed us is God, 22 who also ^asealed us and ^bgave the ¹pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.

23 But ^aI call God as witness ¹to my soul, that ^bto spare you I did not come again to ^cCorinth. 24 Not that we ^alord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are ^bstanding firm.