The Daily Audio Bible

Don’t be mismatched

¹⁴ Don’t be drawn into partnership with unbelievers. What kind of sharing can there be, after all, between justice and lawlessness? What partnership can there be between light and darkness? ¹⁵ What kind of harmony can the Messiah have with Beliar? What has a believer in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What kind of agreement can there be between God’s temple and idols? We are the temple of the living God, you see, just as God said:

7 So, my beloved people, with promises like these, let’s make ourselves clean from everything that defiles us, outside and inside, and let’s become completely holy in the fear of God.

The God who comforts the downcast

² Make room for us! We haven’t wronged anybody, we haven’t ruined anybody, we haven’t taken advantage of anybody. ³ I’m not saying this to pass judgment against you; I’ve already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴ I speak to you freely and openly; I regularly boast about you; I am full of comfort, and fuller still of joy, over and above all our trouble.

⁵ You see, even when we arrived in Macedonia, we couldn’t relax or rest. We were troubled in every way; there were battles outside and fears inside. ⁶ But the God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the arrival of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his arrival but in the comfort he had received from you, as he told us about your longing for us, your lamenting, and your enthusiasm for me personally.

As a result, I was more inclined to celebrate;