2Cor 1 | ESV | STEP | Paul , an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God , and Timothy our brother , To the church of God that is at Corinth , with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia :

‏ 2 Corinthians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aan apostle of Christ Jesus ^bby the will of God, and ^cTimothy our brother,

To the church of God that is at Corinth, ^dwith all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

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

God of All Comfort

3 ^fBlessed be the ^gGod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^hGod of all comfort, 4 ⁱwho comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in ^jChrist’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. ^{▼▼Or For as the sufferings of Christ abound for us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ} 6 ^lIf we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you ^mshare in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church} of ^othe affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us ^prely not on ourselves ^qbut on God ^rwho raises the dead. 10 ^sHe delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. ^tOn him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 ^uYou also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf ^vfor the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

12 For our boast is this, ^wthe testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity ^{▼▼Some manuscripts holiness} and ^ygodly sincerity, ^znot by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did ^aapartially understand us—that ^abon the day of our Lord Jesus ^acyou will boast of us as ^adwe will boast of you.

15 Because I was sure of this, ^aeI wanted to come to you first, so that you might have ^afa second ^agexperience of grace. 16 I wanted to visit you ^ahon my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans ^aiaccording to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As surely as ^ajGod is faithful, ^akour word to you has not been Yes and No. 19 For ^althe Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, ^amSilvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but ^anin him it is always Yes. 20 For ^aoall the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our ^apAmen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and ^aqhas anointed us, 22 and who has also ^arput his seal on us and ^asgiven us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. ^{▼▼Or down payment}

23 But ^auI call God to witness against me—it was ^avto spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24 Not that we ^awlord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm ^axin your faith.