2 Corinthians 1

Greetings from Paul

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.#1:1 Greek Achaia, the southern region of the Greek peninsula.

2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

God Offers Comfort to All

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 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 the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 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. 7We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

8We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters,#1:8 Greek brothers. 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. 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. 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. 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

12We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness#1:12 Some manuscripts read honesty. 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. 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, 14even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus#1:14 Some manuscripts read our Lord Jesus. returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.

15Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing by visiting you twice— 16first on my way to Macedonia and again when I returned from Macedonia.#1:16 Macedonia was in the northern region of Greece. Then you could send me on my way to Judea.

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”? 18As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” 19For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas,#1:19 Greek Silvanus. Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. 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.

21It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 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.

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. 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.

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2 Corinthians 1

Greeting

1Paul, #Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1; Titus 1:1; [Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:1] an apostle of Christ Jesus #See 1 Cor. 1:1by the will of God, and #See 1 Thess. 3:2Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is at Corinth, #Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

2 # See Rom. 1:7 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God of All Comfort

3 # Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3 Blessed be the #See Rom. 15:6God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and #Rom. 15:5God of all comfort, 4#[Isa. 51:12; 66:13]who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5For as we share abundantly in #[ch. 4:10; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24]Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.#1:5 Or For as the sufferings of Christ abound for us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ 6#2 Tim. 2:10; [ch. 4:15; 12:15; Eph. 3:13]If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you #See Rom. 8:17share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

8For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,#1:8 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters of #Acts 19:23; 1 Cor. 15:32the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us #Luke 18:9rely not on ourselves #Ps. 2:12; 25:2; 26:1but on God #ch. 4:14who raises the dead. 10#See Rom. 15:31He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. #1 Tim. 4:10On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11#[Acts 12:5; Rom. 15:30; Phil. 1:19; Philem. 22] You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf #[ch. 4:15; 9:11, 12]for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

12For our boast is this, #[1 Thess. 2:10]; See Acts 23:1the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity#1:12 Some manuscripts holiness and #ch. 2:17; 4:2godly sincerity, #1 Cor. 2:4, 13not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14just as you did #ch. 2:5partially understand us—that #See 1 Cor. 1:8on the day of our Lord Jesus #[ch. 5:12; 9:3] you will boast of us as #1 Cor. 9:15; Phil. 2:16; 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19, 20we will boast of you.

15Because I was sure of this, #See 1 Cor. 4:19I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have #[Acts 18:1-18] a second #[Rom. 1:11]experience of grace. 16I wanted to visit you #Acts 19:21; [1 Cor. 16:5-7]on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 17Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans #ch. 10:2, 3according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18As surely as #See 1 Cor. 1:9God is faithful, #[ch. 2:17]our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19For #See Matt. 14:33the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, #Acts 15:22Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but #[Heb. 13:8]in him it is always Yes. 20For #[Rom. 15:8; Heb. 10:23] all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our #[Rev. 3:14]; See 1 Cor. 14:16Amen to God for his glory. 21And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and #[1 John 2:20, 27]has anointed us, 22and who has also #Eph. 1:13; 4:30put his seal on us and #ch. 5:5; Eph. 1:14; See Rom. 8:16given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.#1:22 Or down payment

23But #[Gal. 1:20]; See Rom. 1:9I call God to witness against me—it was #ch. 2:1, 3; See 1 Cor. 4:21to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24Not that we #1 Pet. 5:3; [ch. 4:5; Matt. 23:8-10] lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm #Rom. 11:20; See 1 Cor. 15:1in your faith.

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