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2 CORINTHIANS
2 Corinthians 1:1-2
Paul and Timothy greet the Christians who are in Corinth.
WethankGodthathe encourages us in all our troubles sothatweare able to encourage youwhenyou suffer. We suffered so much in Asia province thatwewere sure thatwewere going to die, butwe learned to trust inGod. He saved us from death andhewillcontinueto save us from death.
You can trust whatI tell you. I did not visit you, becauseI wanted togiveyouthe opportunity to obey the instructions thatI wrote toyou. Nowthatyouhave punished enoughthe man who caused those problems, I urge youto forgive himandto encourage him.
Ididnot find Titus in Troas, soI went onto Macedonia province. Everywhere we go, God causes peopletoknowChrist through our teaching. Wedonot teach inorderto get money; we teach with sincere motives.
The way you now live proves that we teach the truth about Jesus Christ.
Our work of teaching peopleabout God's New Agreement is much greater thanthe work of teaching peopleabouthis Old Agreement.
We teach a message that transforms people's lives. Sowe teach itwithgreat confidence.
We are servants of Jesus. It is Jesus who has shown us how great God is.
As Jesus' servants we suffer, butthroughoursuffering many peoplewill receive eternal life and thank andpraiseGod.
Asour bodies get weaker, Godcontinually makes our inner lives stronger. Hewill reward usforallthatwehave suffered.
God will give all of us new heavenly bodies, and he will reward us according to what we did while we were living in our earthly bodies.
Christhasshownme how much he loves people. ThatiswhyI teach his message withallthe strength thatIhave. Therefore, I plead withyouto believe thatGodwill forgive youbecauseofwhatChrist did foryou.
In spite of much suffering, wehave lived as servants ofGodshouldlive.
I ask youto accept us and love us aswe love you.
Donot get involved withpeoplewhodonot honor God.
IloveyouallandIhavegreat confidence inyou.
Titus toldmethatmy letter caused youto repent, andso now Iamvery happy.
The believers in Macedonia have already collected the money that they are going to send to the believers in Jerusalem. You should also finish collecting the money that you are preparing to send, and have it ready to send to Jerusalem soon.
Iam sending Titus toyou, alongwith two other believers, to help you get your gift ready. Theyareallwell respected and trustworthy men, so treat them well. Itwillbe good ifyouhaveyour gift ready to send to Judea province bythetimeI arrive in Corinth.
You and I will be ashamed if your gift is not ready when I arrive.
Ifyou give generouslyand willingly, God will always continueto bless yousothatyouwillhave enough tocontinue giving generously, andyour generosity will cause many other peopletopraiseand honor God.
I Paul say to you, “Do not listen to those who say that I am afraid to rebuke you when I am with you and that I behave like people do who are not believers.”
Thosewho teach whatis false mustcometo realize thatIalso belong to Christ andthatGodhas given me authority overyou. I worry thattheywill deceive youandthatyouwill stop being faithful to Christ alone.
Youare mistaken ifyou think thatIdonot love youbecauseIrefusedto accept money fromyouformyteaching. Iwill go on doing thatto prevent those false apostles amongyoufrom boasting thatthey work justasIdo.
You seem to listen tothosewho boast, soItoowill boast. Iwill boast aboutbeinga Jew (asthoseothersdo), andIwill boast abouthaving suffered greatlyforChrist, andaboutanextraordinary vision thatGod gave me. AlthoughGod caused meto suffer an affliction, he promised thathewould help meand strengthen me.
WhenIwaswithyou, Idid things that showed youthatIamtruly Christ's representative. ButI still willnottake pay fromyouwhenIcometo visit youagain. Andthosepeopleare wrong who say thatI tricked youby sending Titus to get money for myself fromyou.
Iam worried thatwhenI visit youIwill find that many ofyouare still sinning. I pray thatGodwill help you turn fromyour sinful behavior, sothatIwillnothaveto discipline youwhenI come.
I finish myletterwithsome advice. Allofushere send youour greetings, andIpraythatGodwill bless you.

Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.

© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.