II Corinthians - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 1200

CORINTHIANS.

2 habiting all Achaia : Grace and peace to you from our Father God, and Lord jesus Christ. Qlwsuns fur his §\ciimt iutuurhs IO II I2 them. I thank the God and Father of our

Lord jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all consolation; Who consoles us in all our affliction, to enable us to console all the afflicted by the same consolation with which we were consoled from God: so that as the sufferings of Christ overflowed to us, in the same way our consolation flows through Christ. Butwhen we are grieved, there is a consolation reflect- ing upon your energetic endurance of the same suffering that we suffer; for our confidence is upon you. We are thus consoled by your having been consoled and saved. And our hope restsuponyou,knowingthatasyou are participators with our sufferings, thus you will be also with the consolation, For we do not wish you to be ig-

norant, brethren, about the afiliction which came to us in Asia ; where we were excessively loaded beyond our power, so much so that we despaired even of life. Nay, more, we possessed in our own selves the sentence of death, so that we might not trust upon ourselves, but upon the God Who raises the dead, Who rescued us ·from so much of death, and will rescue; on Whom we further conflde, that He will still rescue, you uniting with us to desire it, so that through the prayers of many the gift may be granted through you to us. For our pride is the exact evidence

of our conscience; because with Di- vine frankness and honesty, not with worldly philosophy, but in accordance with a Divine gift, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially among you. For we have not written differently to you from what you know and what you acknowledge; and I hope, also, that you will acknowledge until perfect. And as you have par- tially acknowledged that we are your pride, so you are ours in the day of the Lord jesus. And with this con- fidence we intended to come to you before, so that you might have a second pleasure; and by way of you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to return to you, and to be sent by you to judea. Then did I decide with flckleness,

when I intended this? or what I de- cided, did I decide it capriciously, so with me? But, true God, I know that our object towards you is For the Son of God, jesus Christ———Who was preached among you by us, by me, and Sil- vanus, and Timotheus—has not been on the contrary, it has become sure in Him. For what- ever was promised from God in Him the for the honour of God, by our means. And He Who supports us with you in Christ, and sanctiiles us, is God; and He attested us, and gave the pledge of the Spirit to our hearts. And I can call upon God to give evidence to my life, that I never came into Corinth shrinking from you; not that we dominate your faith, although we are partners in your pleasure; for you stand by faith. So I decided with myself not to come again to you with distress. For if I should distress you, then who could gladden me, except he who was dis- tressed by me ? And I have written this especially, so that I might not, when coming, bring distress upon those whom I wish to please; for I trust upon you all, because you are all a delight to me. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and agony of 1200 16 18 20 2I 22