On behalf of such an individual I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses.

But ¹  he said to me, “My grace is enough ²  for you, for my ³  power is made perfect ⁴  in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly ⁵  about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in ⁶  me.

I had no relief in my spirit, ¹  because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them ²  and set out ³  for Macedonia.

I do not want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters,

If I must boast, ¹  I will boast about the things that show my weakness. ² 

So ¹  I made up my own mind ²  not to pay you another painful visit. ³ 

Now I appeal to God as my witness, ¹  that to spare ²  you I did not come again to Corinth. ³ 

Apart from other things, ¹  there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern ²  for all the churches.

For even if I made you sad ¹  by my letter, ²  I do not regret having written it ³  (even though I did regret it, ⁴  for ⁵  I see that my letter made you sad, ⁶  though only for a short time).

Now as a fair exchange – I speak as to my ¹  children – open wide your hearts to us ²  also.

and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,” ¹  says the All-Powerful Lord. ² 

If there is any question ¹  about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; if there is any question about our brothers, they are messengers ²  of the churches, a glory to Christ.

So here is my opinion on this matter: It is to your advantage, since you ¹  made a good start last year both in your giving and your desire to give,

And I wrote this very thing to you, ¹  so that when I came ²  I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours.

(To my disgrace ¹  I must say that we were too weak for that!) ²  But whatever anyone else dares to boast about ³  (I am speaking foolishly), I also dare to boast about the same thing. ⁴ 

My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously ¹  will also reap generously.

I am afraid that ¹  when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for ²  many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.

Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? ¹  Or do I make my plans ²  according to mere human standards ³  so that I would be saying ⁴  both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?

And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are ¹  the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them ²  and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ³ 

I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, ¹  in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, ²  in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers,