1Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, making our holiness perfect in the fear of God.
2Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, and taken advantage of no one.
3I’m not saying this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live and die with us.
4I have great confidence in you, and I am very proud of you. I am greatly comforted; despite all our troubles, my joy knows no bounds.
5For when we arrived in Macedonia, we had no rest. We were troubled on every side: conflicts outside and fears within.
6But God, who comforts the downhearted, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
7and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your longing to see us, your sorrow, and your eagerness for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
8Even if my letter made you sad, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it for a while, when I saw that my letter caused you sadness, even if only for a short time.
9Now I am happy, not because you were made sad, but because your sadness led you to change your hearts and lives. For you felt a godly sorrow, so that you were not harmed by us in any way.
10Feeling sorry in a way that pleases God leads to a change of heart and salvation, bringing no regrets. But worldly sorrow brings death.
11You see, your sadness in a way that pleased God motivated you strongly. It made you want to clear your name, feel anger at the wrong, be afraid, long for things to be right, show enthusiasm, and seek justice! In every way, you proved yourselves innocent in the matter.
12So, even though I wrote to you, I didn't write because of the one who did wrong, nor because of the one who suffered wrong. I wrote so that your strong commitment to us would be clear to you in God's eyes.
13Because of this, we have been comforted. And in addition to our comfort, we rejoiced even more because of Titus's joy, since his spirit was refreshed by all of you.
14For if I boasted to him about you in any way, I was not let down. In fact, just as everything we told you was true, so also the good things I said about you to Titus turned out to be true.
15His love for you is even stronger now, as he remembers how obedient you all were and how you welcomed him with respect and seriousness.
16I am happy that I can be confident about you in every situation.