| Holman Christian Standard Bible | English Standard Version |
| 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. | 1Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. |
| 2Accept us. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, defrauded no one. | 2Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. |
| 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. | 3I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. |
| 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. | 4I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. |
| 5In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears inside. | 5For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. |
| 6But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, | 6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, |
| 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. | 7and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. |
| 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. | 8For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. |
| 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. | 9As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. |
| 10For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. | 10For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. |
| 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. | 11For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. |
| 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. | 12So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. |
| 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. | 13Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. |
| 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. | 14For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. |
| 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. | 15And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. |
| 16I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you. | 16I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you. |
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