1 ¶ Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the congregation of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:

This letter is from Paul. I have been chosen by God to be a missionary for Jesus Christ. Timothy is here with me and is writing to you also. We are writing to God’s church in the city of Corinth and to all of God’s people in the country of Greece.

2 G race be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Father Who shows us loving-kindness and our God Who gives us comfort.

4 w ho comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

He gives us comfort in all our troubles. Then we can comfort other people who have the same troubles. We give the same kind of comfort God gives us.

5 F or in the same manner that the sufferings of the Christ abound in us, so also our consolation abounds by Christ.

As we have suffered much for Christ and have shared in His pain, we also share His great comfort.

6 A nd if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and saving health, which is effected in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and saving health.

But if we are in trouble, it is for your good. And it is so you will be saved from the punishment of sin. If God comforts us, it is for your good also. You too will be given strength not to give up when you have the same kind of trouble we have.

7 ¶ And our hope of you is steadfast, being certain, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

Our hope for you is the same all the time. We know you are sharing our troubles. And so you will share the comfort we receive.

8 B ecause, brothers, we would not have you ignore our tribulation which was done unto us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond our strength, in such a manner that we despaired even of life:

We want you to know, Christian brothers, of the trouble we had in the countries of Asia. The load was so heavy we did not have the strength to keep going. At times we did not think we could live.

9 B ut we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

We thought we would die. This happened so we would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead.

10 w ho delivered us from so great a death and does deliver; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

Yes, God kept us from what looked like sure death and He is keeping us. As we trust Him, He will keep us in the future.

11 y e also helping us with prayer, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

You also help us by praying for us. Many people thank God for His favor to us. This is an answer to the prayers of many people. Paul Wants to Visit Corinth

12 ¶ For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with carnal wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly towards you.

I am happy to say this. Whatever we did in this world, and for sure when we were with you, we were honest and had pure desires. We did not trust in human wisdom. Our power came from God’s loving-favor.

13 F or we write no other things unto you than what ye read or also know, and I trust ye shall know them even to the end

We write to you only what we know you can understand. I hope you will understand everything.

14 a s also ye have known in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.

When the Lord Jesus comes again, you can be as proud of us as we will be proud of you. Right now you do not understand us real well.

15 ¶ And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before that ye might have a second grace

It was because of this, I wanted to visit you first. In that way, you would be helped two times.

16 a nd to pass by you into Macedonia and to come again out of Macedonia unto you and of you to be sent forward to Judaea.

I wanted to stop to visit you on my way to the country of Macedonia. I would stop again as I came from there. Then you could help me on my way to the country of Judea.

17 W hen I, therefore, was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that of me there should be yes, yes, and no, no?

Yes, I changed my mind. Does that show that I change my mind a lot? Do I plan things as people of the world who say yes when they mean no? You know I am not like that!

18 B ut God is faithful that our word toward you has not been yes and no.

As God is true, my yes means yes. I am not the kind of person who says one thing and means another.

19 F or the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timothy, has not been yes and no, but in him was yes.

Timothy and Silvanus and I have preached to you about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Him there is no yes and no. In Him is yes.

20 F or all the promises of God are yes in him, and in him Amen, by us for the glory of God.

Jesus says yes to all of God’s many promises. It is through Jesus that we say, “Let it be so,” when we give thanks to God.

21 N ow he who confirms us with you unto Christ and has anointed us is God;

God is the One Who makes our faith and your faith strong in Christ. He has set us apart for Himself.

22 w ho has also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

He has put His mark on us to show we belong to Him. His Spirit is in our hearts to prove this.

23 M oreover I call God for a witness upon my soul that I have not yet come unto Corinth to spare you.

I call on God to look into my heart. The reason I did not come to the city of Corinth was because I did not want my strong words to hurt you.

24 N ot for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand.

We are not the boss of your faith but we are working with you to make you happy. Your faith is strong.