1 Therefore, loved ones, since we have these promises, may we cleansea ourselves from everything that stainsb the bodyc and the breath,d becoming fully designated for sacred purposese with the respect off The One Who Is.g
2 Make room for us.h We have wronged no one; we have violated no one; we have exploited no one. 3 I’m not saying this to condemn you. After all, I have told you before that you are in our hearts so that we live and die together. 4 I have great confidence in you, I take great pride in you, I’m filled with encouragement, and I’m overwhelmed with joy despite all our suffering.
5 You see, when we went to Macedonia, our bodiesi had no relief at all but were hard pressed in every way: conflicts on the outside and fears within. 6 However, God—who encourages those who despair—encouraged us with the arrival of Titus. 7 And not only with his arrival but also with how he was encouraged by you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your passionj on my behalf, so that it gave me even more joy. 8 That’s because even if I caused you grief with my letter, I don’t regret it (even though I used to regret it because I do see that the letter caused you grief, even if for an hour). 9 Now, I rejoice, not because you were grieved but because you were grieved with the result that you transformed your mind.k You see, you were grieved while grounded in God,l so that you wouldn’t be harmed because of us.
10 You see, grief while grounded in God brings about transformation of the mind, resulting in liberation without regret, but world system’s kind of grief brings about death. 11 Look at how much motivation this very thing—being grieved while grounded in God—has brought about in you, as well as accountability and just anger and respect and deep longing and passionate dedication and enacting justice. In everything you showed yourselves to be devoted through your actions. 12 So then, even though I wrote to you, it was neither for the sake of the one who acted unjustly nor the one who was treated unjustly; instead, it was for the sake of making it clear to you how motivated you are on our behalf in God’s view. 13 That’s why we are encouraged.
On top of our encouragement, we rejoiced even more abundantly at Titus’ joy because his very breathm was refreshed by all of you. 14 That’s because if I bragged to him on your behalf, I have not been disgraced, but just like everything we said to you was true, so our bragging to Titus about you has also turned out to be true. 15 His motherly loven overflows for you even more when he remembers the faithful responseo from all of you, like how you welcomed him with respect and seriousness.p 16 I rejoice because I am confident in you.
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FOOTNOTES:
a The concept of “cleansing” or being “clean” vs. “unclean” or “ordinary” has been much misunderstood by Christians. It is not a synonym for making something good instead of bad or even making something sinless instead of sinful. To cleanse something is to ritually mark it as set aside for sacred purposes, to consecrate it. The Tabernacle and the priests in Torah were ‘cleansed’ because they were an ordinary tent and ordinary people that were being designated for a particular purpose, not because they were a bad tent and bad people turning good. There are some contexts in which the term is used as moving away from deviation and toward justness, but in those cases it is about returning to dedication to sacred purposes, to one’s sacred calling, and away from the things pulling one away from that sacred calling.
b This is the only instance of this word, molusmos, in the Bible. It carries a sense of being muddy or stained. It’s being used in the sense of being ritually unclean, not following one’s sacred calling, with an emphasis on the visible nature of that uncleanness, the fact that its noticeable and impacts one’s reputation.
c Traditionally, ‘flesh’
d Traditionally, ‘spirit.’ It’s being used here not of the Sacred Life-breath or a harmful spirit but the inner life-force within a person, animated by the Creator in Genesis two and represented in people by their breath, until people breathe their last when the life fades from their bodies.
e Traditionally, “bringing holiness to completion”
f The grammar provides no clues as to whether the “respect of the Liberating Sovereign” is the respect that come from the Liberating Sovereign or is possessed by the Liberating Sovereign or whether it is respect directed toward the Liberating Sovereign. The context also does not provide any definitive clues; however, it may be that the trying to win people over is done with respect sourced from the Liberating Sovereign, doing it as respectfully as Christ would do it.
g “The One Who Is” is used to translate the Greek kurios (traditionally, “Lord”) when it refers to God, especially in Hebrew Bible quotations. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), kurios regularly replaces the Divine Name (YHWH), following an earlier Jewish oral tradition in which readers would say Adonai (“my Lord”) aloud wherever the written text read YHWH. The Jewish community attempted to honor the command “You will not take my name in vain” by not speaking it aloud at all. The practice of saying Adonai preserved reverence for the sacred Name while making the text speakable in public worship. Translating kurios as “The One Who Is” recovers the theological resonance of YHWH, which is linguistically connected to the Hebrew root haya (“to be”). In Exodus 3:14, God self-identifies as Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh (“I will be who I will be” or “I am who I am”), using the first-person imperfect form ehyeh. The third-person equivalents—yihyeh (“he is” or “he will be” [in an ongoing way]), haya (“he was” [or time-limited, completed way]), and the rare participle howeh (“being” or “the one who is”)—suggest that YHWH blends all three in a fusion of past, present, and future being as well as presence both in particular moments and as an ongoing reality. Early Jewish and Christian interpreters, including in Revelation 1:8 and 4:8, echoed this understanding in phrases like “the one who was, and is, and is to come.” Rendering kurios as “The One Who Is” is an attempt to honor the Name’s linguistic roots while resisting the patriarchal and hierarchical connotations carried by “Lord” in English. It also recalls the liberating presence of the Name given from the burning bush in Exodus as The One Who Is began moving to liberate the oppressed people of Israel.
h Probably a reference to 2 Corinthians 6:13
i Traditionally, ‘flesh’
j Or ‘zeal’ or ‘jealousy’
k The Greek word metanoia is traditionally translated as ‘repent.’ The meaning of metanoia is ‘change the mind.’ It does not mean ‘remorse’ or ‘reforming behavior.’ The confusion comes from the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, which used paenitere, which means ‘to be penitent,’ which was a significant shift away from the Greek meaning.
l Literally, “according to God.” The phrase conveys alignment with God’s character or intent. “Grounded in God” is used to evoke a posture of rootedness and orientation, a sense of being established and connected with God in a way that shapes the experience of grieving.
m Traditionally, ‘spirit.’ It’s being used here not of the Sacred Life-breath or a harmful spirit but the inner life-force within a person, animated by the Creator in Genesis two and represented in people by their breath, until people breathe their last when the life fades from their bodies.
n Or “deep compassion.” Literally related to lower abdominal organs, including the uterus and intestines. It is often used to symbolize ‘motherly love,’ relating it to the care of the womb.
o Traditionally, ‘obedience.’ The Greek word means ‘listen to’ in the sense of taking directions seriously and following through on them. It can be used in the sense of reporting for duty in the military or other roles.
p The Greek word tromos means trembling or shaking. In the New Testament, it often signals an earnest, visceral seriousness in response to something of great importance. When paired with phobos (“fear”), as in “fear and trembling,” it conveys not terror or passivity, but a deep attentiveness to what is at stake, an embodied recognition that the moment demands care, focus, and commitment.