7 1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of our Father.
2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.
5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But our Father, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. 7 And not only by his coming but also by the comfort he had received because of you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.
8 For even if I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, even if only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led you to repentance. For you were grieved in the way our Father intends, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For grief that is according to our Father's will produces a repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this grief according to our Father's will has produced in you: what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what readiness to see justice done! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who was wronged, but so that before our Father your own earnestness for us might be made plain to you. 13 Therefore we have been comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because you all refreshed his spirit. 14 For whatever I had boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection for you is all the greater as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because in everything I have complete confidence in you.