2 Corinthians 1

Paul Greets the Corinthiansⓘ

Greeting from Paul and Timothy¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The God of All Comfortⓘ

God of all comfort in suffering³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

⁶If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience. ⁷And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

Despairing of life in Asia, rescued by God⁸We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia.^a We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.

¹⁰He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us, ¹¹as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.

Paulʼs Change of Plansⓘ

Paul's clear conscience and open dealing¹²For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly^b wisdom, but in the grace of God. ¹³For we do not write you anything that is beyond your ability to read and understand. And I hope that you will understand us completely, ¹⁴as you have already understood us in part, so that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.^c

Why Paul's plans changed: God's 'Yes' in Christ¹⁵Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing. ¹⁶I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to return to you from Macedonia, and then to have you help me on my way to Judea.

¹⁷When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” and also “No, no”? ¹⁸But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus^d and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” ²⁰For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

²¹Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, ²²placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come. He stayed away to spare them²³I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. ²⁴Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.