2 Corinthians 2
2
1In fact, I made up my mind about this: # Lit I decided this for myself I would not come to you on another painful visit. # Lit not again in sorrow to come to you 2For if I cause you pain, then who will cheer me other than the one being hurt by me? # Lit the one pained 3I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident # Php 1:25 about all of you that my joy will also be yours. 4For I wrote to you with many tears out of an extremely troubled and anguished heart — not that you should be hurt, but that you should know the abundant love I have for you.
A Sinner Forgiven
5If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree — not to exaggerate # 2Th 3:8 — to all of you. 6The punishment inflicted by the majority is sufficient for that person. 7As a result, you should instead forgive # Mt 6:12 and comfort him. Otherwise, this one may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. 8Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9I wrote for this purpose: to test your character # Rm 5:4 to see if you are obedient # Php 2:8 in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I do too. For what I have forgiven — if I have forgiven anything — it is for you in the presence of Christ. 11I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage # 2Co 12:17 of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.
A Trip to Macedonia
12When I came to Troas # Ac 16:8 to preach the gospel of Christ, the Lord opened a door # Col 4:3 for me. 13I had no rest # 2Th 1:7 in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus, # Ti 1:4 but I said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia. # Ac 16:9
A Ministry of Life or Death
14But thanks be to God, # 1Co 15:57 who always puts us on display # Or always leads us in a triumphal procession, or always causes us to triumph in Christ # Lit in the Christ, or in the Messiah ; 1Co 15:22; Eph 1:10,12,20; 3:11 and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. # Jn 17:3; 1Jn 4:8 15For to God we are the fragrance # Eph 5:2; Php 4:18 of Christ among those who are being saved # Mt 9:22; Ac 16:30; Eph 2:8 and among those who are perishing. # Jn 6:27 16To some we are an aroma of death # Mt 10:21; Jn 8:51; Php 3:10 leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life # 1Jn 5:12 leading to life. And who is competent for this? 17For we are not like the many # Other mss read the rest who market God’s message # Mt 12:36; Mk 4:14; Lk 6:47; 8:21; Jn 1:1; 2:22; 18:32; Ac 17:11; 2Tm 2:15; Heb 4:12 for profit. On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.
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2 Corinthians 2: HCSB
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
2 Corinthians 2
2
1I have decided not to make my next visit to you so painful. 2If I make you feel bad, who would be left to cheer me up, except the people I had made to feel bad? 3The reason I want to be happy is to make you happy. I wrote as I did because I didn't want to visit you and be made to feel bad, when you should make me feel happy. 4At the time I wrote, I was suffering terribly. My eyes were full of tears, and my heart was broken. But I didn't want to make you feel bad. I only wanted to let you know how much I cared for you.
Forgiveness
5I don't want to be hard on you. But if one of you has made someone feel bad, I am not really the one who has been made to feel bad. Some of you are the ones. 6Most of you have already pointed out the wrong that person did, and that is punishment enough for what was done.
7When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair. 8You should make them sure of your love for them.
9I also wrote because I wanted to test you and find out if you would follow my instructions. 10I will forgive anyone you forgive. Yes, for your sake and with Christ as my witness, I have forgiven whatever needed to be forgiven. 11I have done this to keep Satan from getting the better of us. We all know what goes on in his mind.
12When I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ, I found that the Lord had already prepared the way.#Ac 20.1. 13But I was worried when I didn't find my friend Titus there. So I left the other followers and went on to Macedonia.
14I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume. 15-16In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone. For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads them to a better life. But for people who are lost, it has a bad smell and leads them to a horrible death.
No one really has what it takes to do this work. 17A lot of people try to get rich from preaching God's message. But we are God's sincere messengers, and by the power of Christ we speak our message with God as our witness.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012