| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: | 1This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece. |
| 2Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. | 2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. God Offers Comfort to All |
| 3Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; | 3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. |
| 4Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. | 4He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. |
| 5For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. | 5For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. |
| 6And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. | 6Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. |
| 7And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. | 7We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. |
| 8For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: | 8We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. |
| 9But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: | 9In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. |
| 10Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; | 10And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. |
| 11Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf. | 11And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. Paul’s Change of Plans |
| 12For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. | 12We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. |
| 13For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; | 13Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, |
| 14As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. | 14even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you. |
| 15And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; | 15Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing by visiting you twice— |
| 16And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea. | 16first on my way to Macedonia and again when I returned from Macedonia. Then you could send me on my way to Judea. |
| 17When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? | 17You may be asking why I changed my plan. Do you think I make my plans carelessly? Do you think I am like people of the world who say “Yes” when they really mean “No”? |
| 18But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. | 18As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” |
| 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. | 19For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. |
| 20For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. | 20For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. |
| 21Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; | 21It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, |
| 22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. | 22and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us. |
| 23Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. | 23Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn’t return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke. |
| 24Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand. | 24But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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. |
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