2 Corinthians 1
1
1 #
Ac 18.1. From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and from Timothy, who is also a follower.
To God's church in Corinth and to all of God's people in Achaia.
2I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
Paul Gives Thanks
3Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Father is a merciful God, who always gives us comfort. 4He comforts us when we are in trouble, so that we can share this same comfort with others in trouble. 5We share in the terrible sufferings of Christ, but also in the wonderful comfort he gives. 6We suffer in the hope that you will be comforted and saved. And because we are comforted, you will also be comforted, as you patiently endure suffering like ours. 7You never disappoint us. You suffered as much as we did, and we know that you will be comforted as we were.
8 #
1 Co 15.32. My friends, I want you to know what a hard time we had in Asia. Our sufferings were so horrible and so unbearable that death seemed certain. 9In fact, we felt sure we were going to die. But this made us stop trusting in ourselves and start trusting God, who raises the dead to life. 10God saved us from the threat of death,#1.10 the threat of death: Some manuscripts have “many threats of death.” and we are sure that he will do it again and again. 11Please help us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks for the blessings we receive in answer to all these prayers.
Paul's Change of Plans
12We can be proud of our clear conscience. We have always lived honestly and sincerely, especially when we were with you. And we were guided by God's gift of undeserved grace instead of by the wisdom of this world. 13I am not writing anything you cannot read and understand. I hope you will understand it completely, 14just as you already partly understand us. Then when our Lord Jesus returns, you can be as proud of us as we are of you.
15I was so sure of your pride in us that I had planned to visit you first of all. In this way you would have the blessing of two visits from me— 16#Ac 19.21. once on my way to Macedonia and again on my return from there. Then you could send me on to Judea. 17Do you think I couldn't make up my mind about what to do? Or do I seem like someone who says “Yes” or “No” simply to please others? 18God can be trusted, and so can I, when I say our answer to you has always been “Yes” and never “No.” 19#Ac 18.5. This is because Jesus Christ the Son of God is always “Yes” and never “No.” And he is the one Silas,#1.19 Silas: The Greek text has “Silvanus,” which is another form of the name Silas. Timothy, and I told you about.
20Christ says “Yes” to all God's promises. This is why we have Christ to say “Amen”#1.20 Amen: The word “amen” is used here with the meaning of “yes.” for us to the glory of God. 21And so God makes it possible for you and us to stand firmly together with Christ. God is also the one who chose us 22and put his Spirit in our hearts to show that we belong only to him.
23God is my witness that I stayed away from Corinth, just to keep from being hard on you. 24We are not bosses who tell you what to believe. We are working with you to make you glad, because your faith is strong.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
2 Corinthians 1
1
1I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Timothy our brother joins me in writing.
We are sending this letter to you, the members of God’s church in Corinth. It is also for all God’s holy people everywhere in Achaia.
2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Praise to the God Who Gives Comfort
3Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who gives tender love. All comfort comes from him. 4He comforts us in all our troubles. Now we can comfort others when they are in trouble. We ourselves receive comfort from God. 5We share very much in the sufferings of Christ. So we also share very much in his comfort. 6If we are having trouble, it is so that you will be comforted and renewed. If we are comforted, it is so that you will be comforted. Then you will be able to put up with the same suffering we have gone through. 7Our hope for you remains firm. We know that you suffer just as we do. In the same way, God comforts you just as he comforts us.
8Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the hard times we had in Asia Minor. We were having a lot of trouble. It was far more than we could stand. We even thought we were going to die. 9In fact, we felt as if we were under the sentence of death. But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life. 10God has saved us from deadly dangers. And he will continue to do it. We have put our hope in him. He will continue to save us. 11You must help us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because of what will happen to us. They will thank God for his kindness to us in answer to the prayers of many.
Paul Changes His Plans
12Here is what we take pride in. Our sense of what is right and wrong tells us how we have acted. We have lived with honor and godly honesty. We have depended on God’s grace and not on the world’s wisdom. We lived that way most of all when we were dealing with you. 13We are writing only what you can read and understand. And here is what I hope. 14Up to this point you have understood some of the things we have said. But now here is what I hope for when the Lord Jesus returns. I hope that your pride in us will be the same as our pride in you. When this happens, you will understand us completely.
15Because I was sure of this, I wanted to visit you first. Here is how I thought you would be helped twice. 16I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia. I would have come back to you from there. Then you would have sent me on my way to Judea. 17When I planned all this, was I ready to change my mind for no good reason? No. I don’t make my plans the way the world makes theirs. In the same breath the world says both, “Yes! Yes!” and “No! No!”
18But just as sure as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19Silas, Timothy and I preached to you about the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Our message did not say “Yes” and “No” at the same time. The message of Christ has always been “Yes.” 20God has made a great many promises. They are all “Yes” because of what Christ has done. So through Christ we say “Amen.” We want God to receive glory. 21He makes both us and you remain strong in the faith because we belong to Christ. He anointed us. 22He put his Spirit in our hearts and marked us as his own. We can now be sure that he will give us everything he promised us.
23I call God to be my witness. May he take my life if I’m lying. I wanted to spare you, so I didn’t return to Corinth. 24Your faith is not under our control. You remain strong in your own faith. But we work together with you for your joy.
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