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2 Corinthians 2
New Life Version
2 Corinthians 2
New Life Version
2 As I thought about it, I decided I would not come to you again. It would only make you sad. 2 If I make you sad, who is going to make me happy? How can you make me happy if I make you sad? 3 That is why I wrote that letter to you. I did not want to visit you and be made sad by the ones who should be making me happy. I am sure when I am happy, you are happy also. 4 I wrote you with a troubled heart. Tears were coming from my eyes. I did not want to make you sad. I wanted you to know how much I loved you.
Forgiving a Christian
5 If someone among you has brought sorrow, he has not made me as sad as he has all of you. I say this so I may not make it hard for you. 6 Most of you have punished him. That is enough for such a person. 7 Now you should forgive him and comfort him. If you do not, he will be so sad that he will want to give up. 8 I ask you to show him you do love him. 9 This is why I wrote to you. I wanted to test you to see if you were willing to obey in all things. 10 If you forgive a man, I forgive him also. If I have forgiven anything, I have done it because of you. Christ sees me as I forgive. 11 We forgive so that Satan will not win. We know how he works!
12 When I arrived in the city of Troas, the Lord opened the door for me to preach the Good News of Christ. 13 I was worried because I could not find our brother Titus. After saying good-bye, I went on my way to the country of Macedonia. 14 We thank God for the power Christ has given us. He leads us and makes us win in everything. He speaks through us wherever we go. The Good News is like a sweet smell to those who hear it. 15 We are a sweet smell of Christ that reaches up to God. It reaches out to those who are being saved from the punishment of sin and to those who are still lost in sin. 16 It is the smell of death to those who are lost in sin. It is the smell of life to those who are being saved from the punishment of sin. Who is able for such a work? 17 We are not like others. They preach God’s Word to make money. We are men of truth and have been sent by God. We speak God’s Word with Christ’s power. All the time God sees us.
2 Corinthians 2
New International Version
2 Corinthians 2
New International Version
2 1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.(A) 2 For if I grieve you,(B) who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? 3 I wrote as I did,(C) so that when I came I would not be distressed(D) by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence(E) in all of you, that you would all share my joy. 4 For I wrote you(F) out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
Forgiveness for the Offender
5 If anyone has caused grief,(G) he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment(H) inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him,(I) so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 Another reason I wrote you(J) was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.(K) 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan(L) might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.(M)
Ministers of the New Covenant
12 Now when I went to Troas(N) to preach the gospel of Christ(O) and found that the Lord had opened a door(P) for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind,(Q) because I did not find my brother Titus(R) there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.(S)
14 But thanks be to God,(T) who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma(U) of the knowledge(V) of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma(W) of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.(X) 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death;(Y) to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?(Z) 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.(AA) On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity,(AB) as those sent from God.(AC)
New Life Version (NLV)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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