| Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. | 1Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God. |
| 2Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. | 2Accept us. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, defrauded no one. |
| 3I do not say this to condemn you. I have said before that you so occupy our hearts that we live and die together with you. | 3I don't say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live together and to die together. |
| 4Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride in you; I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows. | 4I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions. |
| 5For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction—conflicts on the outside, fears within. | 5In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears inside. |
| 6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, | 6But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, |
| 7and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more. | 7and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. |
| 8Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it, I now see that my letter caused you sorrow, but only for a short time. | 8For even if I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it--even though I did regret it since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a little while. |
| 9And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. | 9Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn't experience any loss from us. |
| 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. | 10For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. |
| 11Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. | 11For consider how much diligence this very thing--this grieving as God wills--has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter. |
| 12So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong or the one who was harmed, but rather that your earnestness on our behalf would be made clear to you in the sight of God. | 12So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your diligence for us might be made plain to you in the sight of God. |
| 13On account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of Titus. For his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. | 13For this reason we have been comforted. In addition to our comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus had, because his spirit was refreshed by all of you. |
| 14Indeed, I was not embarrassed by anything I had boasted to him about you. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved to be true as well. | 14For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been embarrassed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, so our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth. |
| 15And his affection for you is even greater when he remembers that you were all obedient as you welcomed him with fear and trembling. | 15And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling. |
| 16I rejoice that I can have complete confidence in you. | 16I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you. |
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