2 Corinthians 7:9

Contextual Overview

⁵For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. ⁵ For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. ⁵ For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. ⁵For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side—conflicts without, fears within. ⁵When we rode into Macedonia, it was constant mayhem. We were attacked from every direction. The battle against evil on the outside wasn't any harder than the battle against fear on the inside. ⁵ For even when we had come into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; there were fightings outside and fears inside. ⁵ For indeed, when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but [we were] afflicted in every way; without combats, within fears. ⁵ In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears inside. ⁵ For even when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side. Fightings were outside. Fear was inside. ⁵ For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side: from without were fightings, from within were fears.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I rejoice: 2 Corinthians 7:6, 2 Corinthians 7:7, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Ecclesiastes 7:3, Jeremiah 31:18-20, Zechariah 12:10, Luke 15:7, Luke 15:10, Luke 15:17-24, Luke 15:32, Acts 20:21

after a godly manner: or, according to God, 2 Corinthians 7:10, 2 Corinthians 7:11, 2 Corinthians 1:12,*Gr.

that ye: 2 Corinthians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 10:8-10, 2 Corinthians 13:8-10, Isaiah 6:9-11

Reciprocal: Numbers 29:7 - afflict Nehemiah 8:9 - all the people Psalms 30:5 - weeping Psalms 32:6 - godly Song of Solomon 5:5 - my hands Isaiah 54:6 - a woman Jeremiah 31:9 - come Matthew 5:4 - General Mark 6:12 - preached Luke 18:24 - he was Luke 22:62 - and wept 1 Corinthians 5:2 - mourned 1 Corinthians 13:6 - rejoiceth 2 Corinthians 1:7 - our 2 Corinthians 2:4 - not 2 Corinthians 12:21 - and have not 1 Timothy 1:4 - godly

Cross-References

Genesis 2:19
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 2:19
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground Yahweh God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and He brought each to the man to see what he would call it; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 2:19
Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 2:19
And so out of the grounde the Lorde God had shapen euery beast of the field, and euery foule of the ayre, and brought it vnto man, that he myght see howe he woulde call it. For lykewyse as man hym selfe named euery lyuyng thyng, euen so was the name therof.

Genesis 2:19
The Lord God used dust from the ground and made every animal in the fields and every bird in the air. He brought all these animals to the man, and the man gave them all a name.

Genesis 2:19
So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 2:19
Therfor whanne alle lyuynge beestis of erthe, and alle the volatils of heuene weren formed of erthe, the Lord God brouyte tho to Adam, that he schulde se what he schulde clepe tho; for al thing that Adam clepide of lyuynge soule, thilke is the name therof.

Genesis 2:19
And out of ye ground the LORD God formed euery beast of the field, and euery foule of the aire, and brought them vnto Adam, to see what he would call them: and whatsoeuer Adam called euery liuing creature, that was the name thereof.

Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry,.... Their grief and sorrow, as a natural passion, was no matter or cause of joy to him; nor was this what he sought after, being what he could take no real pleasure in; for so far as that was a pain to them, it was a pain to him:

but that ye sorrowed to repentance; their sorrow issued in true evangelical repentance, and this was the ground of his rejoicing; for as there is joy in heaven among the angels, at the repentance of a sinner, so there is joy in the church below, among the saints and ministers of the Gospel, when either sinners are brought in, or backsliders returned by repentance:

for ye were made sorry after a godly sort; what gave him so much joy and satisfaction was, that their sorrow was of the right sort; it was a godly sorrow, they sorrowed after; or according to God, according to the will of God, and for sin, as it was committed against him; it was a sorrow that God wrought in them:

that ye might receive damage by us in nothing; what added to his pleasure was, that his writing to them, and the effect it produced, had not been in the least detrimental to them; things had worked so kindly, and this sorrow had wrought in such a manner, that they were not hurt in their souls, but profited; nor in their church state, they had not lost one member by it; nay, the offender himself, which was the occasion of all this trouble, was recovered and restored by these means.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry ... - I have no pleasure in giving pain to anyone, or in witnessing the distress of any. When people are brought to repentance under the preaching of the gospel, the ministers of the gospel do not find pleasure in their grief as such. They are not desirous of making people unhappy by calling them to repentance, and they have no pleasure in the deep distress of mind which is often produced by their preaching, in itself considered. It is only because such sorrow is an indication of their return to God, and will be followed by happiness and by the fruits of good living, that they find any pleasure in it, or that they seek to produce it.

But that ye sorrowed to repentance - It was not mere grief; it was not sorrow producing melancholy, gloom, or despair; it was not sorrow which led you to be angry at him who had reproved you for your errors - as is sometimes the case with the sorrow that is produced by reproof; but it was sorrow that led to a change and reformation. It was sorrow that was followed by a putting away of the evil for the existence of which there had been occasion to reprove you. The word rendered here as “repentance” (μετάνοιαν metanoian) is a different word from that which, in 2 Corinthians 7:8, is rendered “I did repent,” and indicates a different state of mind. It properly means a change of mind or purpose; compare Hebrews 12:7. It denotes a change for the better; a change of mind that is durable and productive in its consequences; a change which amounts to a permanent reformation; see Campbell’s Diss. ut supra. The sense here is, that it produced a change, a reformation. It was such sorrow for their sin as to lead them to reform and to put away the evils which had existed among them. It was this fact, and not that they had been made sorry, that led Paul to rejoice.

After a godly manner - Margin, “according to God;” see the note on the next verse.

That ye might receive damage by us in nothing - The Greek word rendered “receive damage” (ζημιωθῆτε zēmiōthēte) means properly to bring loss upon anyone; to receive loss or detriment; see the note on 1 Corinthians 3:15; compare Philippians 3:8. The sense here seems to be, “So that on the whole no real injury was done you in any respect by me. You were indeed put to pain and grief by my reproof. You sorrowed. But it has done you no injury on the whole. It has been a benefit to you. If you had not reformed, if you had been pained without putting away the sins for which the reproof was administered, if it had been mere grief without any proper fruit, you might have said that you would have suffered a loss of happiness, or you might have given me occasion to inflict severer discipline. But now you are gainers in happiness by all the sorrow which I have caused.” Sinners are gainers in happiness in the end by all the pain of repentance produced by the preaching of the gospel. No man suffers loss by being told of his faults if he repents; and people are under the highest obligations to those faithful ministers and other friends who tell them of their errors, and who are the means of bringing them to true repentance.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Corinthians 7:9. Ye sorrowed to repentance — Ye had such a sorrow as produced a complete change of mind and conduct. We see that a man may sorrow, and yet not repent.

Made sorry after a godly manner — It was not a sorrow because ye were found out, and thus solemnly reprehended, but a sorrow because ye had sinned against God, and which consideration caused you to grieve more than the apprehension of any punishment.

Damage by us in nothing. — Your repentance prevented that exercise of my apostolic duty, which would have consigned your bodies to destruction, that your souls might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.