2 Corinthians 7
The full text of 2 Corinthians 7 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, completing the work of holiness out of reverence for God.
2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.
3 I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you.
4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.
5 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn, conflicts on the outside, fears within.
6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.
8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while.
9 Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
12 So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are.
13 By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
14 I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well.
15 And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.
16 I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.
Translation notes (5)
- 2 Corinthians 7:1a This verse concludes the passage beginning at 6:14, which some scholars judge a non-Pauline interpolation because it interrupts the appeal resumed at 7:2; the passage nonetheless appears in every known Greek manuscript. Agapetoi, 'beloved', is rendered here as 'dear friends', and phobo theou, literally 'fear of God', as 'reverence for God'.
- 2 Corinthians 7:5a Paul here resumes the travel narrative broken off at 2 Corinthians 2:13, where he had left Troas for Macedonia while anxiously awaiting Titus. Greek reads literally that 'our sarx (σάρξ)', 'flesh', had no rest, using the body as shorthand for the whole afflicted person. The paired phrase machai, 'conflicts', and phoboi, 'fears', distinguishes external opposition from inward distress.
- 2 Corinthians 7:8a The letter is most naturally identified with the severe or tearful letter mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4, written after 1 Corinthians and now lost, though some have equated it with 1 Corinthians itself. The Greek verb metamelomai, 'to regret', appears twice, marking Paul's candid admission of a regret he no longer holds.
- 2 Corinthians 7:10a Greek uses the same noun lype, 'sorrow', in both halves of the verse; the contrast lies in the modifiers kata theon, literally 'according to God', and tou kosmou, 'of the world'. Paul also plays on related words, pairing metanoia, 'repentance', with ametameleton, 'not to be regretted', a wordplay English cannot easily reproduce.
- 2 Corinthians 7:12a The unnamed adikēsas, 'one who did the wrong', and adikētheis, 'injured party', recall the offender of 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 and the severe letter mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4. Older interpreters identified the wrongdoer with the incestuous man of 1 Corinthians 5, but many now hold that he had personally affronted Paul or his representative during the painful visit, making Paul himself the injured party.
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