⁶But God comforts those who are sad. He comforted me when Titus came. ⁷I was comforted not only when he came but also by the comfort you had given him. He told me how much you longed for me. He told me about your deep sadness and concern for me. That made my joy greater than ever.

⁸Even if my letter made you sad, I’m not sorry I sent it. At first I was sorry. I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while. ⁹Now I am happy. I’m not happy because you were made sad. I’m happy because your sadness led you to turn away from your sins. You became sad just as God wanted you to. So you were not hurt in any way by us.

¹⁰Godly sadness causes us to turn away from our sins and be saved. And we are certainly not sorry about that! But worldly sadness brings death.

¹¹Look at what that godly sadness has produced in you. You are working hard to clear yourselves. You are angry and alarmed. You are longing to see me. You are concerned. You are ready to make sure that the right thing is done. In every way you have proved that you are not guilty in that matter.

¹²So even though I wrote to you, it wasn’t because of the one who did the wrong. It wasn’t because of the one who was hurt. Instead, I wrote you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how faithful you are to us. ¹³All of that cheers us up.

We were also very glad to see how happy Titus was. You have all renewed his spirit.

Read in Logos

2 Corinthians 7:10: For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.