| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Since we have these promises, dear friends, let's cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit by becoming mature in our holy fear of God. | 1Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. |
| 2Make room for us in your hearts! We have not treated anyone unjustly, harmed anyone, or cheated anyone. | 2Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. |
| 3I am not saying this to condemn you. I told you before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. | 3I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you. |
| 4I have great confidence in you. I am very proud of you. I am very much encouraged. I am overjoyed in all our troubles. | 4I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles. Paul’s Joy at the Church’s Repentance |
| 5For even when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. We suffered in a number of ways. Outwardly there were conflicts, inwardly there were fears. | 5When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. |
| 6Yet God, who comforts those who feel miserable, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, | 6But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged 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 for me, your sorrow, and your eagerness to take my side, and this made me even happier. | 7His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy! |
| 8If I made you sad with my letter, I do not regret it, although I did regret it then. I see that the letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while. | 8I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. |
| 9Now I am happy, not because you had such sorrow, but because your sorrow led you to repent. For you were sorry in a godly way, and so you were not hurt by us in any way. | 9Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. |
| 10For having sorrow in a godly way results in repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets. But the sorrow of the world produces death. | 10For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. |
| 11See what great earnestness godly sorrow has produced in you! How ready you are to clear yourselves, how indignant, how alarmed, how full of longing and enthusiasm, how eager to seek justice! In every way you have demonstrated that you are innocent in this matter. | 11Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. |
| 12So, even though I wrote to you, it wasn't because of the man who did the wrong or because of the man who was hurt. Instead, I wrote to you so that your devotion to us might be made perfectly clear to you before God. | 12My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us. |
| 13This is what comforted us. In addition to our own comfort, we were even more delighted at the joy of Titus, because his spirit had been set at rest by all of you. | 13We have been greatly encouraged by this. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind at ease. |
| 14For if I have been doing some boasting about you to him, I have never been ashamed of it. Moreover, since everything we told you was true, our boasting to Titus has also proved to be true. | 14I had told him how proud I was of you—and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true! |
| 15His affection for you is even greater as he remembers how obedient all of you were and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. | 15Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way all of you obeyed him and welcomed him with such fear and deep respect. |
| 16I rejoice that I can have complete confidence in you. | 16I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
