2 Corinthians 2
New American Standard Bible
Reaffirm Your Love
2 But I decided this [a]for my own sake, that I (A)would not come to you in sorrow again. 2 For if I (B)cause you sorrow, who then will be the one making me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? 3 This is the very thing I (C)wrote you, so that (D)when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having (E)confidence in you all that my joy was the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I (F)wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
5 But (G)if anyone has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not for me, but in some degree—[b]not to say too much—for all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a person is (H)this punishment which was imposed by the majority, 7 so that on the other hand, you should rather (I)forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a person might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For to this end (J)I also wrote, so that I might [c](K)put you to the test, whether you are (L)obedient in all things. 10 But one whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did so for your sakes (M)in the presence of Christ, 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by (N)Satan, for (O)we are not ignorant of his schemes.
12 Now when I came to (P)Troas for the (Q)gospel of Christ and when a (R)door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 I (S)had no rest for my spirit, not finding (T)Titus my brother; but (U)saying goodbye to them, I went on to (V)Macedonia.
14 (W)But thanks be to God, who always (X)leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the (Y)fragrance of the (Z)knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a (AA)fragrance of Christ to God among (AB)those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: 16 (AC)to the one an [d]aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is (AD)adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like the many, [e](AE)peddling the word of God, but (AF)as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ (AG)in the sight of God.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 2:1 Or as far as I am concerned
- 2 Corinthians 2:5 Lit so that I not be burdensome
- 2 Corinthians 2:9 Lit know the proof of you
- 2 Corinthians 2:16 Or odor
- 2 Corinthians 2:17 Or diluting
2 Corinthians 2
The Message
2 1-2 That’s why I decided not to make another visit that could only be painful to both of us. If by merely showing up I would put you in an embarrassingly painful position, how would you then be free to cheer and refresh me?
3-4 That was my reason for writing a letter instead of coming—so I wouldn’t have to spend a miserable time disappointing the very friends I had looked forward to cheering me up. I was convinced at the time I wrote it that what was best for me was also best for you. As it turned out, there was pain enough just in writing that letter, more tears than ink on the parchment. But I didn’t write it to cause pain; I wrote it so you would know how much I care—oh, more than care—love you!
5-8 Now, regarding the one who started all this—the person in question who caused all this pain—I want you to know that I am not the one injured in this as much as, with a few exceptions, all of you. So I don’t want to come down too hard. What the majority of you agreed to as punishment is punishment enough. Now is the time to forgive this man and help him back on his feet. If all you do is pour on the guilt, you could very well drown him in it. My counsel now is to pour on the love.
9-11 The focus of my letter wasn’t on punishing the offender but on getting you to take responsibility for the health of the church. So if you forgive him, I forgive him. Don’t think I’m carrying around a list of personal grudges. The fact is that I’m joining in with your forgiveness, as Christ is with us, guiding us. After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!
An Open Door
12-14 When I arrived in Troas to proclaim the Message of the Messiah, I found the place wide open: God had opened the door; all I had to do was walk through it. But when I didn’t find Titus waiting for me with news of your condition, I couldn’t relax. Worried about you, I left and came on to Macedonia province looking for Titus and a reassuring word on you. And I got it, thank God!
14-16 In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.
16-17 This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No—but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.
2 Corinthians 2
Contemporary English Version
2 I have decided not to make my next visit with you so painful. 2 If I make you feel bad, who would be left to cheer me up, except the people I had made to feel bad? 3 The 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. 4 At 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
5 I 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. 6 Most of you have already pointed out the wrong that person did, and this is punishment enough for what was done.
7 When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair. 8 You should make them sure of your love for them.
9 I also wrote because I wanted to test you and find out if you would follow my instructions. 10 I will forgive anyone you forgive. Yes, for your sake and with Christ as my witness, I have forgiven whatever needed to be forgiven. 11 I have done this to keep Satan from getting the better of us. We all know what goes on in his mind.
12 (A) When I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ, I found that the Lord had already prepared the way. 13 But I was worried when I didn't find my friend Titus there. So I left the other followers and went on to Macedonia.
14 I 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. 15-16 In 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. 17 A 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.
2 Corintios 2
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Problemas en la iglesia de Corinto
2 Pero en mí mismo decidí esto: no ir otra vez a ustedes(A) con tristeza. 2 Porque si yo les causo tristeza(B), ¿quién será el que me alegre sino aquel a quien yo entristecí? 3 Y esto mismo les escribí(C), para que cuando yo llegue no tenga tristeza de parte de los que debieran alegrarme(D), confiando en todos ustedes(E) de que mi gozo sea el mismo de todos ustedes. 4 Pues por la mucha aflicción y angustia de corazón les escribí con muchas lágrimas, no para entristecerlos(F), sino para que conozcan el amor que tengo especialmente por ustedes.
5 Pero si alguien ha causado tristeza, no me la ha causado a mí, sino hasta cierto punto, para no exagerar[a], a todos ustedes(G). 6 Es suficiente para tal persona este castigo(H) que le fue impuesto por la mayoría; 7 así que, por el contrario, ustedes más bien debieran perdonarlo(I) y consolarlo, no sea que en alguna manera este[b] sea abrumado por tanta[c] tristeza.
8 Por lo cual les ruego que reafirmen su amor hacia él. 9 Pues también con este fin les escribí(J), para ponerlos a prueba[d](K) y ver si son obedientes en todo(L). 10 Pero a quien perdonen algo, yo también lo perdono. Porque en verdad, lo que yo he perdonado, si algo he perdonado, lo hice por ustedes en presencia de Cristo[e](M), 11 para que Satanás(N) no tome ventaja sobre nosotros, pues no ignoramos sus planes(O).
De Troas a Macedonia
12 Cuando llegué a Troas(P) para predicar el evangelio de Cristo(Q), y se me abrió una puerta en el Señor(R), 13 no tuve reposo en mi espíritu al no encontrar a Tito(S), mi hermano. Despidiéndome, pues, de ellos(T), salí para Macedonia(U).
Triunfantes en Cristo
14 Pero gracias a Dios(V), que en Cristo siempre nos lleva en triunfo(W), y que por medio de nosotros manifiesta la fragancia(X) de Su conocimiento(Y) en todo lugar. 15 Porque fragante aroma[f](Z) de Cristo somos para Dios entre los que se salvan y entre los que se pierden(AA). 16 Para unos, olor de muerte para muerte, y para otros, olor de vida para vida(AB). Y para estas cosas, ¿quién está capacitado(AC)? 17 Pues no somos como muchos, que comercian[g] la palabra de Dios(AD), sino que con sinceridad(AE), como de parte de Dios, hablamos en Cristo delante de Dios(AF).
Footnotes
- 2 Corintios 2:5 Lit. para no ser gravoso.
- 2 Corintios 2:7 Lit. el tal.
- 2 Corintios 2:7 Lit. excesiva.
- 2 Corintios 2:9 Lit. conocer la prueba de ustedes.
- 2 Corintios 2:10 I.e. el Mesías.
- 2 Corintios 2:15 Lit. fragancia.
- 2 Corintios 2:17 O corrompen.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation