| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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. | 1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. |
| 2Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. | 2Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. |
| 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. | 3I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. |
| 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 | 4Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. |
| 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. | 5For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. |
| 6But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. | 6But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; |
| 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! | 7and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. |
| 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. | 8For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it-- for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while-- |
| 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. | 9I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. |
| 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. | 10For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. |
| 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. | 11For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. |
| 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. | 12So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God. |
| 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. | 13For this reason we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. |
| 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! | 14For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth. |
| 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. | 15His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. |
| 16I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you. | 16I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you. |
| 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. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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