²³ And I for a witness on God do call upon my soul, that sparing you, I came not yet to Corinth;

²⁰ And the things that I write to you, lo, before God -- I lie not;

²¹ what do ye wish? with a rod shall I come unto you, or in love, with a spirit also of meekness?

⁹ for God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the good news of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you,

¹⁰ because of this, these things -- being absent -- I write, that being present, I may not treat `any' sharply, according to the authority that the Lord did give me for building up, and not for casting down.

² I have said before, and I say `it' before, as being present, the second time, and being absent, now, do I write to those having sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare,

²⁰ of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I did deliver to the Adversary, that they might be instructed not to speak evil.

⁵ for at no time did we come with speech of flattery, (as ye have known,) nor in a pretext for covetousness, (God `is' witness!)

⁸ For God is my witness, how I long for you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ,

²⁰ for I fear lest, having come, not such as I wish I may find you, and I -- I may be found by you such as ye do not wish, lest there be strifes, envyings, wraths, revelries, evil-speakings, whisperings, puffings up, insurrections,

³¹ the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ -- who is blessed to the ages -- hath known that I do not lie! --

¹¹ wherefore? because I do not love you? God hath known!

⁶ and being in readiness to avenge every disobedience, whenever your obedience may be fulfilled.

⁷ The things in presence do ye see? if any one hath trusted in himself to be Christ's, this let him reckon again from himself, that according as he is Christ's, so also we `are' Christ's;

⁸ for even if also anything more abundantly I shall boast concerning our authority, that the Lord gave us for building up, and not for casting you down, I shall not be ashamed;

⁹ that I may not seem as if I would terrify you through the letters,

¹⁰ `because the letters indeed -- saith one -- `are' weighty and strong, and the bodily presence weak, and the speech despicable.'

¹¹ This one -- let him reckon thus: that such as we are in word, through letters, being absent, such also, being present, `we are' in deed.

² and I beseech `you', that, being present, I may not have courage, with the confidence with which I reckon to be bold against certain reckoning us as walking according to the flesh;

¹ And I decided this to myself, not again to come in sorrow unto you,

² for if I make you sorry, then who is he who is making me glad, except he who is made sorry by me?

³ and I wrote to you this same thing, that having come, I may not have sorrow from them of whom it behoved me to have joy, having confidence in you all, that my joy is of you all,

¹⁸ and God `is' faithful, that our word unto you became not Yes and No,

⁵ to deliver up such a one to the Adversary for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

¹ Truth I say in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing testimony with me in the Holy Spirit,