Reaffirm Your Love
1But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. 2For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? 3And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. 4For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
5But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. 6Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. 7So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. 8Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. 9For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. 10To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 11Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Triumph in Christ
12Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, 13I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
14Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Reaffirm Your Love
1 But I determined this for myself, that I would not come to you again in sorrow. 2 For if I make you sorry, then who will make me glad but he who is made sorry by me? 3 And I wrote this very thing to you, so that, when I came, I wouldn’t have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy would be shared by all of you. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be made sorry, but that you might know the love that I have so abundantly for you.
5 But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I not press too heavily) to you all. 6 Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the many; 7 so that on the contrary you should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I beg you to confirm your love toward him. 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now I also forgive whomever you forgive anything. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
Triumph in Christ
12 Now when I came to Troas for the Good News of Christ, and when a door was opened to me in the Lord, 13 I had no relief for my spirit, because I didn’t find Titus, my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went out into Macedonia.
14 Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God, in those who are saved, and in those who perish; 16 to the one a stench from death to death; to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not as so many, peddling the word of God. But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.
Reaffirm Your Love
1 So I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who is left to cheer me but those whom I have grieved? 3 I wrote as I did so that on my arrival I would not be saddened by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would share my joy. 4 For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you.
5 Now if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me but all of you—to some degree, not to overstate it. 6 The punishment imposed on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7 So instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.
9 My purpose in writing you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Triumph in Christ
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord, 13 I had no peace in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. 15 For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. a And who is qualified for such a task?
17 For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
Footnotes:
16 a Literally To the one, indeed, an aroma from death to death; but to the other, an aroma from life to life.
Reaffirm Your Love
1And I decided this to myself, not again to come in sorrow unto you, 2for if I make you sorry, then who is he who is making me glad, except he who is made sorry by me? 3and I wrote to you this same thing, that having come, I may not have sorrow from them of whom it behoved me to have joy, having confidence in you all, that my joy is of you all, 4for out of much tribulation and pressure of heart I wrote to you through many tears, not that ye might be made sorry, but that ye might know the love that I have more abundantly toward you.
5And if any one hath caused sorrow, he hath not caused sorrow to me, but in part, that I may not burden you all; 6sufficient to such a one is this punishment, that is by the more part, 7so that, on the contrary, it is rather for you to forgive and to comfort, lest by over abundant sorrow such a one may be swallowed up; 8wherefore, I call upon you to confirm love to him, 9for, for this also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether in regard to all things ye are obedient. 10And to whom ye forgive anything -- I also; for I also, if I have forgiven anything, to whom I have forgiven it, because of you -- in the person of Christ -- I forgive it, 11that we may not be over-reached by the Adversary, for of his devices we are not ignorant.
Triumph in Christ
12And having come to Troas for the good news of the Christ, and a door to me having been opened in the Lord, 13I have not had rest to my spirit, on my not finding Titus my brother, but having taken leave of them, I went forth to Macedonia;
14and to God are thanks, who at all times is leading us in triumph in the Christ, and the fragrance of His knowledge He is manifesting through us in every place, 15because of Christ a sweet fragrance we are to God, in those being saved, and in those being lost; 16to the one, indeed, a fragrance of death to death, and to the other, a fragrance of life to life; and for these things who is sufficient? 17for we are not as the many, adulterating the word of God, but as of sincerity -- but as of God; in the presence of God, in Christ we do speak.
Forgiveness and Restoration
¹ I decided not to visit you again in sadness, because I didn’t want to cause you more grief. I wanted my next visit to be full of joy for both of us. After all, how could I bring you comfort if I was the one making you sorrowful? ² If I were the reason for your pain, who would lift my spirits? It would only be the very ones I had hurt, and I wouldn’t want that.
³ I wrote to you instead of coming in person, because I knew that when I arrived, I wanted to be encouraged by you—not burdened by your sadness. You are the ones who bring me joy, and I knew that if I came while we were still in turmoil, we’d all be in pain.
⁴ When I wrote to you, I was deeply emotional, with tears in my eyes and anguish in my heart. But my intention was never to cause you distress. I wrote so you could understand how much love I have for you—my deepest, heartfelt affection.*
Forgiving the One Who Offended
⁵ If anyone has caused pain, they haven’t just hurt me—they’ve hurt all of you, though I don’t want to exaggerate it. ⁶ The punishment imposed by the majority of you on this person has been enough. ⁷ Now it’s time to forgive and comfort him, so he won’t be swallowed up in overwhelming grief. ⁸ I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
⁹ This was why I wrote to you: to test whether you would be obedient in everything I asked. ¹⁰ If you forgive anyone, I forgive them too. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I did it in the presence of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ so that Satan wouldn’t outwit us. After all, we are not unaware of his schemes.*
Triumph in Christ
¹² When I came to the city of Troas to preach the good news about Jesus, I found an open door for my ministry. ¹³ But I was troubled because I couldn’t find my brother Titus there, so I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. ¹⁴ But thank God! He always leads us in a triumphant procession in Christ, spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere we go.
¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To some, we smell like death, a reminder of their doom, but to others, we are a life-giving fragrance! Who is qualified for such a task as this? ¹⁷ Certainly not those who peddle God’s word for profit. We speak sincerely before God, as those sent from Him, in the presence of Christ.*
Footnotes:
•2:4: The word translated here as “anguish” comes from a Greek term suggesting deep inner turmoil. Paul is revealing his deep emotional investment in the church.
•2:11: Paul references the strategy of Satan to divide believers through bitterness and unforgiveness. In the ancient world, many believed that harboring anger gave evil forces an advantage.
•2:17: Paul contrasts his ministry with those who were exploiting the gospel for personal gain. This was a problem even in the first-century church.
•2:6: The “punishment” Paul refers to is likely a form of church discipline that was common in the early Christian communities, designed to restore and correct.
•2:16: The idea of fragrance comes from the ancient practice of triumphal processions, where incense was burned to celebrate a victory. To those on the side of the victors, the smell was sweet. To captives, it was a reminder of their defeat.
•2:15: The metaphor of aroma or fragrance in this verse emphasizes the way in which Christians, through their lives and actions, reflect Jesus and either draw people to God or repel them.
•2:5: Paul does not name the offender here, but it is widely believed to be the same individual from 1 Corinthians who was involved in scandalous behavior. The church disciplined him, and now Paul encourages forgiveness and restoration.
