11 We have spoken freely to you,¹ Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but ^gyou are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

The Temple of the Living God

14 Do not be ^hunequally yoked with unbelievers. For ⁱwhat partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or ^jwhat fellowship has light with darkness? 15 ^kWhat accord has Christ with Belial?² Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ^lwe are the temple of the living God; as God said,

1 Since we have these promises, beloved, ^qlet us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body¹ and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the ^rfear of God.

Paul’s Joy

2 ^sMake room in your hearts² for us. ^tWe have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for ^uI said before that you are ^vin our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am acting with great ^wboldness toward you; I have great ^xpride in you; ^yI am filled with comfort. In ^zall our affliction, I am ^aoverflowing with joy.

5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had ^bno rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6 But God, who ^ccomforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of ^dTitus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For ^eeven if I made you grieve with ^fmy letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are ^gcomforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as ^heverything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the ⁱobedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because ^jI have complete confidence in you.