2 Corinthians 1

Greeting

1 Paul a an apostle of Christ Jesus b by the will of God, and c Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is at Corinth d with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

2  e Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God of All Comfort

3  f Blessed be the g God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and h God of all comfort, 4  i 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. 5 For as we share abundantly in j Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. ▼
▼ Or For as the sufferings of Christ abound for us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ
 6  l 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. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you m share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers ▼
▼ Or  brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church
 of o the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us p rely not on ourselves q but on God r who raises the dead. 10  s He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. t On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11  u You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf v for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

12 For our boast is this w the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity ▼
▼ Some manuscripts holiness
 and y godly sincerity z not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did aa partially understand us—that ab on the day of our Lord Jesus ac you will boast of us as ad we will boast of you.

15 Because I was sure of this ae I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have af a second ag experience of grace. 16 I wanted to visit you ah on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans ai according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As surely as aj God is faithful, ak our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19 For al the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you am Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but an in him it is always Yes. 20 For ao all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our ap Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and aq has anointed us, 22 and who has also ar put his seal on us and as given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. ▼
▼ Or down payment

23 But au I call God to witness against me—it was av to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24 Not that we aw lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm ax in your faith.

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