1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.
3 I speak this not to condemn you, for I have said before that ye are in our hearts to die and live together with us.
4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you; I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.
5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.
6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
7 and not by his coming only, but by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me so that I rejoiced the more.
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent; for I perceive that the same epistle has made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance; for ye were made sorry by God that ye might suffer no loss by us.
10 For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, of which there is no need to repented; but the sorrow of the world works death.
11 For behold this same thing, that when ye were made sorry by God, what carefulness it wrought in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things ye have shown yourselves to be clean in this matter.
12 So that, though I wrote unto you, I did it not only for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.
13 Therefore we were comforted in your comfort; yea, and we rejoiced even more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.
14 For if I have gloried of anything to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our glorying, which I made before Titus, was found true.
15 And his inward affection is more abundant toward you while he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
16 I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.