2 Corinthians 2 (NET)

1 So1 I made up my own mind2 not to pay you another painful visit.3 2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad4 but the one I caused to be sad? 3 And I wrote this very thing to you,5 so that when I came6 I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours. 4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you.7 5 But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate)8 he has saddened all of you as well. 6 This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, 7 so that now instead9 you should rather forgive and comfort him.10 This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair.11 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.12 9 For this reason also I wrote you:13 to test you to see14 if you are obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him – for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may not be exploited15 by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). 12 Now when I arrived in Troas16 to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened17 a door of opportunity18 for me, 13 I had no relief in my spirit,19 because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them20 and set out21 for Macedonia.

Apostolic Ministry

14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession22 in Christ23 and who makes known24 through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing – 16 to the latter an odor25 from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?26 17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit,27 but we are speaking in Christ before28 God as persons of sincerity,29 as persons sent from God.

12:1tc Although usually δέ (de, “now”; found in א A C D¹ F G Ψ 0285 Ï lat) should take precedent over γάρ (gar) in textually disputed places in the corpus Paulinum, the credentials for γάρ here are not easily dismissed (Ì⁴⁶ B 0223 0243 33 1739 1881 al); here it is the preferred reading, albeit slightly. 22:1tn Or “I decided this for myself.” 32:1tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”sn Paul was not speaking absolutely about not making another visit, but meant he did not want to come to the Corinthians again until the conflict he mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4-11 was settled. 42:2tn Or “to cheer me up.” L&N 25.131 translates this “For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up?” 52:3tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied. 62:3sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1. 72:4tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.” 82:5tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).” 92:7tn Grk “so that on the other hand.” 102:7tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context. 112:7tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation. 122:8tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.” 132:9tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object). 142:9tn Grk “to know the proof of you,” that is, to know if the Corinthians’ obedience to Paul as an apostle was genuine (L&N 72.7). 152:11tn Or “be taken advantage of.” 162:12sn Troas was a city and region in the northwest corner of Asia Minor. 172:12tn This has been translated as a concessive participle (“even though”). The passive construction (“a door of opportunity had been opened for me by the Lord”) has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity. 182:12tn Grk “a door”; the phrase ἀνοίγω θύραν (anoigw quran, “to open a door”) is an idiom meaning “to make possible some opportunity” (L&N 71.9). 192:13tn Or “I had no peace of mind.” 202:13tn Or “I took my leave of them.” 212:13tn Since this refers to the outset of a journey, the aorist ἐξῆλθον (exhlqon) is taken ingressively. 222:14tn Or “who always causes us to triumph.” 232:14tn Or “in the Messiah.” 242:14tn Or “who reveals.” 252:16tn The same Greek word (ὀσμή, osmh) translated “odor” here (in relation to the stench of death) has been translated “fragrance” in 2:14 and in the next phrase of the present verse. The word itself can describe a smell or odor either agreeable or disagreeable depending on the context (L&N 79.45). 262:16sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry. 272:17tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kaphleuonte") refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed – “to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle…for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term. 282:17tn Or “in the presence of.” 292:17tn Or “persons of pure motives.”