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.

Therefore, since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

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).

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

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.

I do not say this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts so that we die together with you and live together with you.

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.

Great is my boldness toward you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.

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].

For even when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn, with conflicts on the outside and fears within.

6 But God, who always encourages his people when they are discouraged, encouraged us by [sending] Titus back to us.

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

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.

and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing, your contrition, and your deep concern for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.

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.

For even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it (though I did regret it, for I see that my letter caused you sorrow, though only for an hour).

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.

But now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance. For you felt a godly sorrow, so that you suffered no loss through us.

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.

For godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sorrow produces death.

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.

Consider what earnestness this godly sorrow of yours has produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what righting of wrong! In everything you have shown yourselves to be clear in the matter.

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].

So although I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on account of the one who was wronged, but so that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God.

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].

In this we find comfort. And in addition to the comfort we received from you, we rejoiced all the more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

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.

For if I made any boast to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has also proven to be true.

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].

And his affection for you is even greater when he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.

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].

I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you.