1 H aving, then, these promises, beloved, may we cleanse ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God;

Therefore, since these promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring consecration to completeness in the fear of God.

2 r eceive us; no one did we wrong; no one did we waste; no one did we defraud;

Do open your hearts to us again. We have wronged no one, we have betrayed or corrupted no one, we have cheated or taken advantage of no one.

3 n ot to condemn you do I say, for I have said before that in our hearts ye are to die with and to live with;

I do not say this to reproach or condemn, for I have said before that you are in our hearts, together, whether we die or live.

4 g reat my freedom of speech unto you, great my glory on your behalf; I have been filled with the comfort, I overabound with the joy on all our tribulation,

I have great boldness and free and fearless confidence and cheerful courage toward you; my pride in you is great. I am filled with the comfort; with all our tribulation and in spite of it, I am overflowing with joy.

5 f or also we, having come to Macedonia, no relaxation hath our flesh had, but on every side we are in tribulation, without fightings, within -- fears;

For even when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no ease or rest, but we were oppressed in every way and afflicted at every turn—fighting and contentions without, dread and fears within.

6 b ut He who is comforting the cast-down -- God -- He did comfort us in the presence of Titus;

But God, Who comforts and encourages and refreshes and cheers the depressed and the sinking, comforted and encouraged and refreshed and cheered us by the arrival of Titus.

7 a nd not only in his presence, but also in the comfort with which he was comforted over you, declaring to us your longing desire, your lamentation, your zeal for me, so that the more I did rejoice,

and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was encouraged and refreshed and cheered as to you, while he told us of your yearning affection, of how sorry you were and how eagerly you took my part, so that I rejoiced still more.

8 b ecause even if I made you sorry in the letter, I do not repent -- if even I did repent -- for I perceive that the letter, even if for an hour, did make you sorry.

For even though I did grieve you with my letter, I do not regret, though I did regret it; for I see that that letter did pain you, though only for a little while;

9 I now do rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry to reformation, for ye were made sorry toward God, that in nothing ye might receive damage from us;

Yet I am glad now, not because you were pained, but because you were pained into repentance; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us or harm for what we did.

10 f or the sorrow toward God reformation to salvation not to be repented of doth work, and the sorrow of the world doth work death,

For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly.

11 f or, lo, this same thing -- your being made sorry toward God -- how much diligence it doth work in you! but defence, but displeasure, but fear, but longing desire, but zeal, but revenge; in every thing ye did approve yourselves to be pure in the matter.

For observe what this same godly sorrow has done for you and has produced in you: what eagerness and earnest care to explain and clear yourselves '> complicity in the condoning of incest], what indignation, what alarm, what yearning, what zeal, what readiness to mete out punishment '> to the offender]! At every point you have proved yourselves cleared and guiltless in the matter.

12 I f, then, I also wrote to you -- not for his cause who did wrong, nor for his cause who did suffer wrong, but for our diligence in your behalf being manifested unto you before God --

So although I did write to you, it was not for the sake and because of the one who did wrong, nor on account of the one who suffered wrong, but in order that you might realize before God how zealously you do care for us.

13 b ecause of this we have been comforted in your comfort, and more abundantly the more did we rejoice in the joy of Titus, that his spirit hath been refreshed from you all;

Therefore we are relieved and comforted and encouraged. And in addition to our own consolation, we were especially delighted at the joy of Titus, because you have all set his mind at rest, soothing and refreshing his spirit.

14 b ecause if anything to him in your behalf I have boasted, I was not put to shame; but as all things in truth we did speak to you, so also our boasting before Titus became truth,

For if I had boasted to him at all concerning you, I was not disappointed or put to shame, but just as everything we ever said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved true also.

15 a nd his tender affection is more abundantly toward you, remembering the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye did receive him;

And his heart goes out to you more abundantly than ever as he recalls the submission that all of you had, and the reverence and anxiety with which you accepted and welcomed him.

16 I rejoice, therefore, that in everything I have courage in you.

I am very happy because I now am of good courage and have perfect confidence in you in all things.