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.

Ayant donc ces promesses, bien-aimés, purifions-nous de toute souillure de la chair et de l'esprit, en perfectionnant la sainteté dans la crainte de Dieu.

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).

Ouvrez vos cœurs à nous. Nous n'avons fait de tort à personne. Nous n'avons corrompu personne. Nous n'avons profité de personne.

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.

Je ne dis pas cela pour vous condamner, car j'ai déjà dit que vous êtes dans notre cœur pour mourir ensemble et vivre ensemble.

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.

Grande est la hardiesse de mes paroles à votre égard. Grande est ma vantardise en votre faveur. Je suis rempli de réconfort. Je déborde de joie dans toute notre 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].

En effet, lorsque nous sommes entrés en Macédoine, notre chair n'était pas soulagée, mais nous étions affligés de toutes parts. Les combats étaient à l'extérieur. La peur était au dedans.

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

Cependant, celui qui console les humbles, Dieu, nous a consolés par la venue de Tite,

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.

et non seulement par sa venue, mais encore par la consolation qu'il a reçue en vous, lorsqu'il nous a fait part de votre désir, de votre deuil et de votre zèle pour moi, de sorte que je me suis réjoui encore davantage.

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.

Car si je vous ai attristé par ma lettre, je ne le regrette pas, bien que je l'aie regretté. Car je vois que ma lettre vous a attristés, quoique pour un temps seulement.

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.

Je me réjouis maintenant, non pas que vous ayez été attristés, mais que vous ayez été attristés jusqu'à la repentance. Car vous avez été affligés pieusement, afin que vous ne souffriez par nous d'aucune perte.

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.

Car la tristesse pieuse produit la repentance qui conduit au salut, lequel n'entraîne aucun regret. Mais la tristesse du monde produit la mort.

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.

Car voici, cette même chose, que vous avez été affligés d'une manière pieuse, quel soin sérieux cela a produit en vous. Oui, quelle défense, quelle indignation, quelle crainte, quel désir, quel zèle, quelle revendication! En tout, vous vous êtes montrés purs dans cette affaire.

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].

Ainsi, si je vous ai écrit, ce n'est pas pour la cause de celui qui a fait le mal, ni pour la cause de celui qui a souffert le mal, mais pour que la sollicitude dont vous avez fait preuve à notre égard se révèle en vous devant Dieu.

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].

C'est pourquoi nous avons été consolés. Dans notre consolation, nous nous sommes réjouis d'autant plus de la joie de Tite, que son esprit a été rafraîchi par vous tous.

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.

Car si en quelque chose je me suis vanté auprès de lui en votre faveur, je n'ai pas été déçu. Mais, de même que nous vous avons dit toutes choses en vérité, de même notre glorification que j'ai faite devant Tite s'est trouvée être la vérité.

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].

Son affection est plus abondante envers vous, tandis qu'il se souvient de toute votre obéissance, comment avec crainte et tremblement vous l'avez reçu.

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].

Je me réjouis de ce qu'en tout je suis confiant à votre égard.