2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Paul and Timothy greet the Christians who are in Corinth.

1I, Paul, who write this letter to you, became an apostle of Christ Jesus because God chose me for that. Timothy, our fellow believer, is with me. I am sending this letter to you who are God’s people in the congregations in Corinth city. I want the believers who live in other places in Achaia province to also read this letter.

2We(exc) desire that you will experience God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ acting kindly toward you and causing you to have inner peace.

We thank God that he encourages us in all our troubles so that we are able to encourage you when you suffer. We suffered so much in Asia province that we were sure that we were going to die, but we learned to trust in God. He saved us from death and he will continue to save us from death.

3We should praise God, who is the father of our (inc) Lord Jesus Christ. He always pities us and helps us because he is like [MET] a father to us and we are like his children. He always encourages us (inc).

4He has encouraged us (exc) whenever we suffered hardships. As a result, we (exc) are able to encourage others whenever they suffer hardships, just as/just like God has encouraged us (exc).

5It is true that just like Christ suffered, we who serve him also continually suffer because we belong to him. But also, because we belong to Christ, God greatly strengthens us ◄just as/just like► God strengthened him.

6So, whenever we (exc) experience sufferings, we learn how to encourage you when you experience sufferings. As a result, you will become more and more the kind of people God wants you to be. Whenever God strengthens us (exc) when we are suffering, he does that in order that you may see how he makes us strong when we are suffering. Then, as God encourages you in that way, you will learn to continue patiently trusting him when you suffer as we do.

7As a result, we (exc) strongly expect that because you suffer just as/just like we do, God will encourage you ◄just as/just like► he encourages us.

8Our fellow believers, we (exc) want you to know [LIT] about the trouble that we suffered in Asia province. That trouble was so very great that it was much more than we were able to endure. As a result, we (exc) thought that we would certainly die.

9Indeed, we felt like a person feels when he has heard a judge say, “I condemn you to die/be executed [MET].” But God allowed us to think that we were going to die so that we would not ◄rely on/trust in► our own strength. He wanted us instead to rely only on his strength, because he is the one who has power even to make those who have died live again.

10And even though we (exc) were in terrible danger and were about to die, God rescued us. And he will continue to rescue us whenever we are in trouble. We confidently expect that he will continue to rescue us time after time.

11And we are also relying on you to help us by praying for us (exc). If many people pray for us, many people will also thank God when he kindly answers those many prayers and delivers us from danger.

You can trust what I tell you. I did not visit you, because I wanted to give you the opportunity to obey the instructions that I wrote to you. Now that you have punished enough the man who caused those problems, I urge you to forgive him and to encourage him.

12I am happy to say that I have behaved toward all people [MTY] in an honest and sincere way. My conscience assures me that this is true. Especially, I have behaved toward you honestly and sincerely because that is what God wants us to do. As I have done that, my thoughts have not been the thoughts that unbelieving people [MTY] think are wise. Instead, I have behaved toward people only as God wants me to, depending on God to help me in ways that I do not deserve.

13I say that because in all my letters to you I have always written [LIT] clearly in a way that you can easily and completely understand when you read them.

14Previously some of you, but not all of you, have completely understood that I am always honest and sincere with you. But I confidently expect that soon you will all be fully convinced about that. Then when the Lord Jesus [MTY] returns, you will all be able to say that you are pleased with me, just like I will be able to say that I am pleased with you.

15It was because I felt sure that all of you were pleased with me that I was planning to visit you on my way from here to Macedonia province. I also planned to visit you again on my way back from there, so that I could spend time with you twice, and be able to help you more, and I was hoping that you would give me things that I needed [EUP] for my journey to Judea province.

17So then, even though I changed my mind later and did not do what I first planned to do, it was not because I did not have an important reason for changing my plans. Surely you do not really think that I decide what I am going to do like people who do not know God do! [RHQ] I am not like that. I am not a person who says to people, “Yes, certainly I will do that,” and then for no good reason changes his mind and says, “No, I will not do it.”

18Just as surely as God always does what he says he will do, it is true that I have never said, “Yes, I will do this” when I really meant “No.”

19I follow the example of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. When I, along with Silas and Timothy, taught you about Christ, we told you that he was not someone who said that he would do something and then did not do it. Jesus Christ never said to anyone, “Yes, I will do what you desire,” and then did not do it.

20We(inc) know that is true, because everything that God promised to do for his people, he has done completely by sending Christ to save us. That is why we say, “Yes, it is true! God has done everything that he promised to do!” And we praise him for that!

21Now it is only God himself who causes us (exc), as well as you, to keep on believing strongly in Christ. God is the one who chose us (inc) to belong to him and to have a close relationship with Christ.

22He also sent his Holy Spirit into our (inc) lives to mark us as belonging to himself [MET]. Also, since he has sent his Spirit to live in us (inc), he wants us to know by this that he guarantees [MET] to give us every other ◄blessing/good thing► that he has promised.

23So now I will tell you why I changed my mind and did not visit you as I intended to do: God himself knows that what I am telling you is true. The reason that I did not return to Corinth was so that I might not have to speak to you severely about the wrong that you had done.

24It is not that Silas, Timothy and I want to boss you and tell you that you must believe only what we say. Not at all! On the contrary, we (exc) are working as partners with you in order to make you happy. We do not try to force you to believe everything that we believe, because we are sure that you are continuing to trust the Lord Jesus Christ and that you are remaining firmly committed to him.