1. From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from Timothy our brother.To God’s church in the city of Corinth and to all God’s holy people everywhere in Greece.
2. Good will and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!
3. Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who is compassionate and the God who gives comfort.
4. He comforts us whenever we suffer. That is why whenever other people suffer, we are able to comfort them by using the same comfort we have received from God.
5. Because Christ suffered so much for us, we can receive so much comfort from him.
6. Besides, if we suffer, it brings you comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, we can effectively comfort you when you endure the same sufferings that we endure.
7. We have confidence in you. We know that as you share our sufferings, you also share our comfort.
8. Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be ignorant about the suffering we experienced in the province of Asia. It was so extreme that it was beyond our ability to endure. We even wondered if we could go on living.
9. In fact, we still feel as if we’re under a death sentence. But we suffered so that we would stop trusting ourselves and learn to trust God, who brings the dead back to life.