1 Because God, then, will give us such rewards, dear brothers, let us make ourselves clean from all evil of flesh and spirit, and become completely holy in the fear of God. 2 Let your hearts be open to us: we have done no man wrong, no man has been damaged by us, we have made no profit out of any man, 3 It is not with the purpose of judging you that I say this: for I have said before that you are in our hearts for life and death together. 4 My words to you are without fear, I am full of pride on account of you: I have great comfort and joy in all our troubles. 5 For even when we had come into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; there were fightings outside and fears inside. 6 But God who gives comfort to the poor in spirit gave us comfort by the coming of Titus; 7 And not by his coming only, but by the comfort which he had in you, while he gave us word of your desire, your sorrow, your care for me; so that I was still more glad. 8 For though my letter gave you pain, I have no regret for it now, though I had before; for I see that the letter gave you pain, but only for a time. 9 Now I am glad, not that you had sorrow, but that your sorrow was the cause of a change of heart; for yours was a holy sorrow so that you might undergo no loss by us in anything. 10 For the sorrow which God gives is the cause of salvation through a change of heart, in which there is no reason for grief: but the sorrow of the world is a cause of death. 11 For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business. 12 So though I sent you a letter, it was not only because of the man who did the wrong, or because of him to whom the wrong was done, but so that your true care for us might be made clear in the eyes of God. 13 So we have been comforted: and we had the greater joy in our comfort because of the joy of Titus, for his spirit had been made glad by you all. 14 For I was not put to shame in anything in which I may have made clear to him my pride in you; but as we said nothing to you but what was true, so the good things which I said to Titus about you were seen by him to be true. 15 And his love to you is the more increased by his memory of you all, how you gave way to his authority, and how you took him to your hearts with fear and honour. 16 It gives me great joy to see you answering to my good opinion of you in every way.
2 Corinthians · Bible in Basic English
2 Corinthians 7 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (16)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 1 Peter 2:11; James 4:8; Proverbs 8:13; Psalm 51:10
- 2 Acts 20:33; 2 Corinthians 6:12–13; 2 Corinthians 11:9; Romans 16:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:3–6
- 3 Philippians 1:8–9; 2 Corinthians 6:11–12; Ruth 1:16–17; 1 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 12:15
- 4 2 Corinthians 1:4; James 1:2; 2 Corinthians 3:12; Romans 5:3; 1 Corinthians 1:4
- 5 2 Corinthians 2:13; Deuteronomy 32:25; 2 Corinthians 11:23–30; Matthew 11:28–30; Acts 20:1
- 6 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17; 2 Corinthians 1:3–4; 3 John 2–4; 2 Corinthians 7:13; Jeremiah 31:13
- 7 Jude 3; 2 John 4; James 5:17; James 4:9–10; Colossians 2:5
- 8 Revelation 3:19; John 16:6; Exodus 5:22–23; Hebrews 12:9–11; Jeremiah 20:7–9
- 9 Luke 15:7; Jeremiah 31:18–20; Ecclesiastes 7:3; 2 Corinthians 13:8–10; 2 Corinthians 7:10–11
- 10 Acts 3:19; Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25–26; 2 Samuel 12:13; Luke 18:13
- 11 Romans 14:18; 1 Timothy 5:21–22; 2 Timothy 2:15; Psalm 2:11; Ephesians 5:11
- 12 2 Corinthians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:5; 2 Corinthians 7:8; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 2:3–4
- 13 2 Corinthians 7:6; Romans 15:32; 1 Peter 3:8; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Romans 12:15
- 14 2 Corinthians 7:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Corinthians 1:18–20; 2 Corinthians 9:2–4; 2 Corinthians 8:24
- 15 Philippians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 2:9; 1 John 3:17; Psalm 119:120; Isaiah 66:2
- 16 2 Corinthians 2:3; Philemon 8; Philemon 21; 2 Thessalonians 3:4
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Again he raiseth the discourse about love, mitigating the harshness of his rebuke. For since he had convicted and reproached them as being beloved indeed, yet not loving in an equal degree, but breaking away from his love and mixing up with other pestilent fellows; again he softens the vehemence of his rebuke, saying, "Make room for us," that is, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 12 (1889)
For, behold, this selfsame thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you!" Consequently the Stoics may defend themselves by replying, that sorrow is indeed useful for repentance of sin, but that this can have no place in the mind of the wise man, inasmuch as no sin attaches to him of which he could …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
This Paul also clearly declared, when he said, "The sorrow of the world worketh death, but godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of." These then He too Himself calls blessed, whose sorrow is of that kind; yet not simply them that sorrow did He designate, but them that sorrow intensely.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… spectacle to angels and men, and pressing onwards for the prize of his high calling, --very joyfully do we with the eyes of faith behold him rejoicing with them that rejoice, and weeping with them that weep; though hampered by fightings without and fears within; desiring to depart and to be with Christ; longing to see the Romans, that he …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Declaring this, Paul said, "Without were fightings, within were fears;" and, "In perils among false brethren;" and in his discourse to the Milesians too He said, "Also of you shall some arise speaking perverse things;" and He Himself too said, "The man's foes shall be they of his own household." But when He said, "It must needs be," it is …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)