2 Corinthians 1

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Paul, by the wil of God an apostle of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother, to the church of God inCorinth and to al God's holy people in the whole of Achaia.	1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the holy ones throughout Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.	2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father and the God who givesevery possible encouragement;	3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement,
4 he supports us in every hardship, so that we are able to come to the support of others, in everyhardship of theirs because of the encouragement that we ourselves receive from God.	4 who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow into our lives; so too does the encouragement we receive through Christ.	5 For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.
6 So if we have hardships to undergo, this wil contribute to your encouragement and your salvation; if wereceive encouragement, this is to gain for you the encouragement which enables you to bear with perseverancethe same sufferings as we do.	6 If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
7 So our hope for you is secure in the knowledge that you share the encouragement we receive, no lessthan the sufferings we bear.	7 Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement.
8 So in the hardships we underwent in Asia, we want you to be quite certain, brothers, that we wereunder extraordinary pressure, beyond our powers of endurance, so that we gave up al hope even of surviving.	8 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction that came to us in the province of Asia; we were utterly weighed down beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life.
9 In fact we were carrying the sentence of death within our own selves, so that we should be forced totrust not in ourselves but in God, who raises the dead.	9 Indeed, we had accepted within ourselves the sentence of death, that we might trust not in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.
10 He did save us from such a death and will save us -- we are relying on him to do so.	10 He rescued us from such great danger of death, and he will continue to rescue us; in him we have put our hope (that) he will also rescue us again,
11 Your prayer for us wil contribute to this, so that, for God's favour shown to us as the result of theprayers of so many, thanks too may be given by many on our behalf.	11 as you help us with prayer, so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift granted us through the prayers of many.
12 There is one thing that we are proud of, namely our conscientious conviction that we have alwaysbehaved towards everyone, and especial y towards you, with that unal oyed holiness that comes from God,relying not on human reasoning but on the grace of God.	12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with the simplicity and sincerity of God, (and) not by human wisdom but by the grace of God.
13 In our writing, there is nothing that you cannot read clearly and understand;	13 For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand, and I hope that you will understand completely,
14 and it is my hope that, just as you have already understood us partial y, so you wil understand fullythat you can be as proud of us as we shal be of you when the Day of our Lord Jesus comes.	14 as you have come to understand us partially, that we are your boast as you also are ours, on the day of (our) Lord Jesus.
15 It was with this assurance that I had been meaning to come to you first, so that you would benefitdoubly;	15 With this confidence I formerly intended to come to you so that you might receive a double favor,
16 both to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and then to return to you again from Macedonia, so thatyou could set me on my way to Judaea.	16 namely, to go by way of you to Macedonia, and then to come to you again on my return from Macedonia, and have you send me on my way to Judea.
17 Since that was my purpose, do you think I lightly changed my mind? Or that my plans are based onordinary human promptings and I have in my mind Yes, yes at the same time as No, no?	17 So when I intended this, did I act lightly? Or do I make my plans according to human considerations, so that with me it is "yes, yes" and "no, no"?
18 As surely as God is trustworthy, what we say to you is not both Yes and No.	18 As God is faithful, our word to you is not "yes" and "no."
19 The Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, that is, by me and by Silvanus andTimothy, was never Yes-and-No; his nature is al Yes.	19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not "yes" and "no," but "yes" has been in him.
20 For in him is found the Yes to al God's promises and therefore it is 'through him' that we answer'Amen' to give praise to God.	20 For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.
21 It is God who gives us, with you, a sure place in Christ	21 But the one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God;
22 and has both anointed us and marked us with his seal, giving us as pledge the Spirit in our hearts.	22 he has also put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
23 By my life I cal on God to be my witness that it was only to spare you that I did not come to Corinthagain.	23 But I call upon God as witness, on my life, that it is to spare you that I have not yet gone to Corinth.
24 We have no wish to lord it over your faith, but to work with you for your joy; for your stand in the faith isfirm.	24 Not that we lord it over your faith; rather, we work together for your joy, for you stand firm in the faith.