1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy the brother, to the assembly of God that is in Corinth, together with all the holy ones who are in the whole of Achaia.2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.3Praiseworthy is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of the compassions and God of all encouragement.4He who comforts us in all our affliction so that we are able to comfort those who are in any affliction through the encouragement with which we ourselves are comforted by God.5For just as the sufferings of Christ abound toward us, so also through Christ our encouragement abounds.6Whether we are afflicted for your encouragement and salvation, or whether we are comforted for your encouragement that is active in the perseverance of the same sufferings that we also suffer.7And our hope for you is firm, knowing that as you are participants of the sufferings, so also of the encouragement.8For we do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning the affliction that happened to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond power so that we despaired even of living.9Indeed, we ourselves had in ourselves the verdict of death so that we might not be trusting in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.10He delivered us from so great a death and will deliver us; in him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.11You also joining in helping us by your petition, so that from many faces the gift granted to us through many may be thanked for us.