2 Corinthians 2–3

But I determined this with myself, ^athat I would not come again to you in heaviness. ^2bFor if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? ³And I wrote this same unto you, ^clest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; ^dhaving confidence in you all, that ^emy joy is the joy of you all. ⁴For out of much affliction and ^fanguish of heart ^gI wrote unto you with many tears; ^gnot that you should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

⁵But ^hif any have caused grief, ^hhhe hath not grieved me, but ⁱin part: that I may not overcharge you all. ⁶Sufficient to such a man is this ^jpunishment, which was inflicted ^kof many. ⁷So that contrariwise ^lye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. ⁸Wherefore I beseech you that you would ^mconfirm your love towards him. ⁹For to this end also did I write, that I might know ⁿthe proof of you, whether ^oye be obedient in all things. ¹⁰To whom ^pye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it ^qin the ^rperson of Christ; ¹¹lest ^sSatan should ^tget an advantage of us: for ^uwe are not ignorant of his ^wdevices.

¹²Furthermore, when I came to ^xTroas to preach Christ’s gospel, and ^ya door was opened unto me of the Lord, ^13zI had no rest in my spirit, because I found not ^aTitus my brother: but ^btaking my leave of them, ^cI went from thence into Macedonia. ¹⁴Now thanks be unto God, which always ^dcauseth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest ^ethe savour of his knowledge by us in every place. ¹⁵For we are unto God ^ea sweet savour of Christ, in ^fthem that are ^gsaved, and ^hin ^fthem that perish: ^16ijto the one we are the savour of death unto death; and ^jto the other the savour of life unto life. And ^kwho is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷For we are not as many, which ^lcorrupt the word of God: but as of ^msincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

III.Do we begin again to ^acommend ourselves? or need we, as ^bsome others, ^cepistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? ^2dYe are our epistle written in our hearts, ^eknown and read of all men: ³forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ^fministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of ^gthe living God; not in ^htables of stone, but ⁱin fleshy tables of the heart. ⁴And such ^jtrust have we through Christ to God-ward: ^5knot that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but ^lour sufficiency is of God; ⁶who also hath made us able ^dmministers of ⁿthe new ⁿⁿtestament; not of ^othe letter, but of the spirit: for ^pthe letter killeth, but ^qthe spirit giveth life. ⁷But if ^pthe ministration of death, ^hwritten and engraven in stones, ^rwas glorious, ^rso that the children of Israel could not ^sstedfastly behold the face of Moses for ^tthe glory of his countenance; which glory was to be ^udone away: ⁸how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? ⁹For if ^vthe ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth ^wthe ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. ¹⁰For even that which was made glorious ^xhad no glory ^yin this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. ¹¹For if that which is ^udone away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. ¹²Seeing then that we have such hope, ^zwe use great plainness of speech: ¹³and not as Moses, ^rwhich put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not ^sstedfastly look to ^athe end of that which is ^uabolished: ¹⁴but ^btheir ^cminds were ^dblinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away ^ein the reading of ^fthe old testament; which vail is ^udone away in Christ. ¹⁵But even unto this day, ^ewhen Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. ¹⁶Nevertheless ^gwhen it shall turn to the Lord, ^hthe vail shall be taken away. ¹⁷Now ⁱthe Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, ^jthere is liberty. ¹⁸But we all, with open face ^kbeholding as in a glass ^lthe glory of the Lord, ^mare ⁿchanged into the same image ^ofrom glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

IV.