The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the purpose of God, and Timothy the brother, to the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:
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From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and from our brother Timothy - To the church of God in Corinth, and to all God's people throughout Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort;
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Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes!
4 Who gives us comfort in all our troubles, so that we may be able to give comfort to others who are in trouble, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
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He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.
5 For as we undergo more of the pain which Christ underwent, so through Christ does our comfort become greater.
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Just as we have a share in Christ's many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God's great help.
6 But if we are troubled, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which takes effect through your quiet undergoing of the same troubles which we undergo:
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If we suffer, it is for your help and salvation; if we are helped, then you too are helped and given the strength to endure with patience the same sufferings that we also endure.
7 And our hope for you is certain; in the knowledge that as you take part in the troubles, so you will take part in the comfort.
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So our hope in you is never shaken; we know that just as you share in our sufferings, you also share in the help we receive.
8 For it is our desire that you may not be without knowledge of our trouble which came on us in Asia, that the weight of it was very great, more than our power, so that it seemed that we had no hope even of life:
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We want to remind you, friends, of the trouble we had in the province of Asia. The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy that we gave up all hope of staying alive.
9 Yes, we ourselves have had the answer of death in ourselves, so that our hope might not be in ourselves, but in God who is able to give life to the dead:
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We felt that the death sentence had been passed on us. But this happened so that we should rely, not on ourselves, but only on God, who raises the dead.
10 Who gave us salvation from so great a death: on whom we have put our hope that he will still go on to give us salvation;
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From such terrible dangers of death he saved us, and will save us; and we have placed our hope in him that he will save us again,
11 You at the same time helping together by your prayer for us; so that for what has been given to us through a number of persons, praise may go up to God for us from all of them.
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as you help us by means of your prayers for us. So it will be that the many prayers for us will be answered, and God will bless us; and many will raise their voices to him in thanksgiving for us.
12 For our glory is in this, in the knowledge which we have that our way of life in the world, and most of all in relation to you, has been holy and true in the eyes of God; not in the wisdom of the flesh, but in the grace of God.
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We are proud that our conscience assures us that our lives in this world, and especially our relations with you, have been ruled by God-given frankness and sincerity, by the power of God's grace and not by human wisdom.
13 For in our letters we say no other things to you, but those which you are reading, and to which you give agreement, and, it is my hope, will go on doing so to the end:
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We write to you only what you can read and understand. But even though you now understand us only in part, I hope that you will come to understand us completely, so that in the Day of our Lord Jesus you can be as proud of us as we shall be of you.
14 Even as you have been ready, in part, to say that we are your glory, in the same way that you are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15 And being certain of this, it was my purpose to come to you before, so that you might have a second grace;
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I was so sure of all this that I made plans at first to visit you, in order that you might be blessed twice.
16 And by way of Corinth to go into Macedonia, and from there to come back again to you, so that you might send me on my way to Judaea.
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For I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and again on my way back, in order to get help from you for my trip to Judea.
17 If then I had such a purpose, did I seem to be changing suddenly? or am I guided in my purposes by the flesh, saying, Yes, today, and, No, tomorrow?
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In planning this, did I appear fickle? When I make my plans, do I make them from selfish motives, ready to say "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at the same time?
18 As God is true, our word to you is not Yes and No.
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As surely as God speaks the truth, my promise to you was not a "Yes" and a "No."
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we were preaching among you, even I and Silvanus and Timothy, was not Yes and No, but in him is Yes.
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For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you by Silas, Timothy, and myself, is not one who is "Yes" and "No." On the contrary, he is God's "Yes";
20 For he is the Yes to all the undertakings of God: and by him all the words of God are made certain and put into effect, to the glory of God through us.
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for it is he who is the "Yes" to all of God's promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our "Amen" is said to the glory of God.
21 Now he who makes our faith strong together with you, in Christ, and has given us of his grace, is God;
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It is God himself who makes us, together with you, sure of our life in union with Christ; it is God himself who has set us apart,
22 And it is he who has put his stamp on us, even the Spirit, as the sign in our hearts of the coming glory.
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who has placed his mark of ownership upon us, and who has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
23 But God is my witness that it was in pity for you that I did not come to Corinth at that time.
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I call God as my witness - he knows my heart! It was in order to spare you that I decided not to go to Corinth.
24 Not that we have authority over your faith, but we are helpers of your joy: for it is faith which is your support.
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We are not trying to dictate to you what you must believe; we know that you stand firm in the faith. Instead, we are working with you for your own happiness.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.