1 But I determined this in myself, not to come again to you in sadness.
2 For if I make you sad, who then is he who makes me glad except he who is made sad by me?
3 And I wrote this same thing to you, so that when I came, I would not have sadness from whom I ought to rejoice, having been confident toward you all, because my joy is of all of you.
4 For out of much stress and dismay of heart, through many tears, I wrote to you, not that ye would be grieved, but that ye might know the love that I have so much more for you.
5 But if any man has caused sadness, he has not caused me sadness, but in part (that I may not bear down) you all.
6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment by the many,
7 so that instead, for you rather to forgive and encourage, lest perhaps such a man would be swallowed up with too much sorrow.
8 Therefore I beseech you to affirm love for him.
9 For I also wrote for this, so that I might know the proof of you, whether ye are obedient in all things.
10 But to whom ye forgive anything, I too. For I also, whom I have forgiven (if anything), I have forgiven because of you in the presence of Christ,
11 so that we may not be exploited by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his methods.
12 Now having come to Troas for the good news of the Christ, and a door having been opened to me in the Lord,
13 I had no rest in my spirit, my not finding Titus my brother. But having departed from them, I went forth into Macedonia.
14 And thanks is to God who always causes us to triumph in the Christ, and who makes manifest the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place, through us.
15 Because we are a fragrance of Christ to God, in those being saved and in those perishing:
16 to the one an odor of death for death, and to the other an aroma of life for life. And who is adequate for these things?
17 For we are not as other men, huckstering the word of God, but as from purity. But we speak in Christ as from God in the sight of God.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Paul addressing in 2 Corinthians chapter 2?
What does Paul mean that God 'causeth us to triumph in Christ' (v14)?
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Today's Verse
And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
Verse Of The DayPaul warns that failing to forgive would let Satan gain an advantage, since believers must stay alert to his devices, much as Peter warns readers that their adversary the devil prowls about in 1 Peter 5:8. He closes by thanking God who always leads believers in Christ's triumph, a theme carried into 2 Corinthians 3.
