2 Corinthians 7

¹Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

²Make room for us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.

³I do not say this to condemn you; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.

⁴Great is my boldness toward you, great is my boasting for you; I have been filled with encouragement, I overflow with joy in all our affliction.

⁵For indeed, when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted in every way; outside conflicts, within fears.

⁶But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus;

⁷And not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted over you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced the more.

⁸For even if I grieved you by the letter, I do not regret it; even if I did regret it, for I see that that letter, even if for an hour, grieved you,

⁹Now I rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved unto repentance; for you were grieved according to God, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us.

¹⁰For grief according to God produces a repentance unto salvation not to be regretted, but the grief of the world produces death.

¹¹For behold this very thing, that you were grieved according to God, what earnestness it produced in you, yea, what defense, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what longing, yea, what zeal, yea, what vindication! In everything you proved yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

¹²So even if I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did wrong, nor yet for the sake of the one who suffered wrong, but for the sake of your earnestness on our behalf being revealed to you before God.

¹³On account of this we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced yet more abundantly at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

¹⁴For if I have boasted to him anything about you, I was not put to shame, but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus became truth.

¹⁵And his affection is more abundantly toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him.

¹⁶I rejoice that in everything I am of good courage in you.