| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1So I made up my own mind not to pay you another painful visit. | 1So I decided that I would not bring you grief with 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? | 2For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. |
| 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. | 3That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. |
| 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 that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you. Forgiveness for the Sinner |
| 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. | 5I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. |
| 6This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, | 6Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. |
| 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. | 7Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. |
| 8Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. | 8So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him. |
| 9For this reason also I wrote you: to test you to see if you are obedient in everything. | 9I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. |
| 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 this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, |
| 11so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). | 11so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes. |
| 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 came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity 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 I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him. Ministers of the New Covenant |
| 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 thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. |
| 15For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing-- | 15Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. |
| 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 those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as 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. | 17You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us. |
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