And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.
Parallel translations
- WEB I now rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you were made sorry to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing.
- KJV Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
- NKJV Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
- NASB I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
- NLT Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul rejoices not that they were saddened but that their sorrow led to repentance, a godly grief that did them no harm. The goal of correction is repentance, not mere pain.
Overview
Paul clarifies that his joy is over the outcome, repentance, not over their distress itself. Their sorrow was 'godly,' producing genuine turning to God rather than damage. This distinguishes constructive, God-honoring grief from sorrow that merely wounds.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Luke 15:7In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
- Jer 31:18–20I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- Ps 38:18Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
- Eccl 7:3Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
- 2 Cor 7:10–11Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
- 2 Cor 13:8–10For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.
- Zech 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- 2 Cor 10:8–10For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed.
- Isa 6:9–11And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Luke 15:10In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
- Acts 20:21testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Cor 1:12And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.
- Luke 15:17–24Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death!
- 2 Cor 7:6–7But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
- Luke 15:32But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
- 2 Cor 2:16To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
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Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 7:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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