[1] Because God, then, will give us such rewards, dear brothers, let us
make ourselves clean from all evil of flesh and spirit, and become
completely holy in the fear of God. [2] Let your hearts be open to us: we
have done no man wrong, no man has been damaged by us, we have made no
profit out of any man, [3] It is not with the purpose of judging you that I
say this: for I have said before that you are in our hearts for life and
death together. [4] My words to you are without fear, I am full of pride on
account of you: I have great comfort and joy in all our troubles. [5] For
even when we had come into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were
troubled on every side; there were fightings outside and fears inside. [6]
But God who gives comfort to the poor in spirit gave us comfort by the
coming of Titus; [7] And not by his coming only, but by the comfort which
he had in you, while he gave us word of your desire, your sorrow, your care
for me; so that I was still more glad. [8] For though my letter gave you
pain, I have no regret for it now, though I had before; for I see that the
letter gave you pain, but only for a time. [9] Now I am glad, not that you
had sorrow, but that your sorrow was the cause of a change of heart; for
yours was a holy sorrow so that you might undergo no loss by us in
anything. [10] For the sorrow which God gives is the cause of salvation
through a change of heart, in which there is no reason for grief: but the
sorrow of the world is a cause of death. [11] For you see what care was
produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of
yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious
purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are
free from sin in this business. [12] So though I sent you a letter, it was
not only because of the man who did the wrong, or because of him to whom
the wrong was done, but so that your true care for us might be made clear
in the eyes of God. [13] So we have been comforted: and we had the greater
joy in our comfort because of the joy of Titus, for his spirit had been
made glad by you all. [14] For I was not put to shame in anything in which
I may have made clear to him my pride in you; but as we said nothing to you
but what was true, so the good things which I said to Titus about you were
seen by him to be true. [15] And his love to you is the more increased by
his memory of you all, how you gave way to his authority, and how you took
him to your hearts with fear and honour. [16] It gives me great joy to see
you answering to my good opinion of you in every way.
