| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. | 1Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. |
| 2Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one. | 2Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. |
| 3I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. | 3I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you. |
| 4Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. | 4I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles. Paul’s Joy at the Church’s Repentance |
| 5For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. | 5When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. |
| 6Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, | 6But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. |
| 7and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. | 7His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy! |
| 8For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. | 8I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. |
| 9Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. | 9Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. |
| 10For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. | 10For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. |
| 11For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. | 11Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. |
| 12Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you. | 12My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us. |
| 13Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. | 13We have been greatly encouraged by this. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind at ease. |
| 14For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. | 14I had told him how proud I was of you—and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true! |
| 15And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. | 15Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way all of you obeyed him and welcomed him with such fear and deep respect. |
| 16Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything. | 16I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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