Chapter 1

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints that are in the whole of Achaia:

grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Comfort in Trouble

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our afflictions, that we also may be able to comfort those who are in any distress by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also through Christ does our comfort abound.

For whether we are afflicted, it is for your instruction and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort; which shows its efficacy in the endurance of the selfsame sufferings that we also suffer.

And our hope for you is steadfast, knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so will you also be of the comfort. Persecution and Deliverance

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of the affliction which came upon us in Asia. We were crushed beyond measure---beyond our strength, so that we were weary even of life.

Yes, we have been carrying, within our very selves, our death sentence; in order that we may not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.

He it is who delivered us, and will deliver us, from such great perils; and in him we have hope to be delivered yet again,

through the help of your prayers for us. Thus, for the gift bestowed on us at the instance of many persons, thanks will be given by many on our behalf. His Sincerity

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity---not in carnal wisdom, but in the grace of God---we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you.

For we write nothing to you that you do not read and understand. Indeed, I hope you will always understand,

even as you have understood us in part, that we are your boast, as you will also be ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is Not Fickle

With this assurance I meant, in order that you might enjoy a double grace, to visit you first,

and to pass through you into Macedonia, and from Macedonia to come again to you, and by you to be sent forward on my way to Judea.

Now in this my intention, did I show fickleness? Or are my plans made according to the flesh, so that with me it is now "Yes" and now "No? "

God is my witness that our message to you is not both "Yes" and "No."

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us---by me and Silvanus and Timothy---was not now "Yes" and now "No," but only "Yes" was in him.

For all the promises of God find their "Yes" in him; and therefore through him also rises the "Amen" to God unto our glory.

Now it is God who is warrant for us and for you in Christ, who has anointed us,

who has also stamped us with his seal and has given us the Spirit as a pledge in our hearts. His Wish to Spare Them

Now I call God to witness against my soul that it was to spare you that I did not again come to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but rather we are fellow-workers in your joy; for in faith you stand.