| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1So I made up my own mind not to pay you another painful visit. | 1Now I decided not to pay you another painful visit. |
| 2For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad but the one I caused to be sad? | 2After all, if I were to grieve you, who should make me happy but the person I am making sad? |
| 3And I wrote this very thing to you, so that when I came 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. | 3This is the very reason I wrote you, so that when I did come I might not be made sad by those who should have made me happy. For I had confidence that all of you would share the joy that I have. |
| 4For 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. | 4I wrote to you out of great sorrow and anguish of heart—along with many tears—not to make you sad but to let you know how much love I have for you. |
| 5But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate) he has saddened all of you as well. | 5But if anyone has caused grief, he didn't cause me any grief. To some extent—I don't want to emphasize this too much—it has affected all of you. |
| 6This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, | 6This punishment by the majority is severe enough for such a man. |
| 7so that now instead you should rather forgive and comfort him. This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. | 7So forgive and comfort him, or else he will drown in his excessive grief. |
| 8Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. | 8That's why I'm urging you to assure him of your love. |
| 9For this reason also I wrote you: to test you to see if you are obedient in everything. | 9I had also written to you to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in every way. |
| 10If 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, | 10When you forgive someone, I do, too. Indeed, what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I did in the presence of the Messiah for your benefit, |
| 11so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). | 11so that we may not be outsmarted by Satan. After all, we are not unaware of his intentions. |
| 12Now when I arrived in Troas to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened a door of opportunity for me, | 12When I went to Troas on behalf of the gospel of the Messiah, the Lord opened a door for me, |
| 13I had no relief in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them and set out for Macedonia. | 13but my spirit could not find any relief, because I couldn't find Titus, my brother. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. |
| 14But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. | 14But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him. |
| 15For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing-- | 15To God we are the aroma of the Messiah among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. |
| 16to the latter an odor from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? | 16To some people we are a deadly fragrance, while to others we are a living fragrance. Who is qualified for this? |
| 17For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, but we are speaking in Christ before God as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God. | 17At least we are not commercializing God's word like so many others. Instead, we speak with sincerity in the Messiah's name, like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God. |
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