International Standard Version
2Corinthians 2
1 Now a I decided not to pay you another painful visit.
2 After all, if I were to grieve you, who should make me happy but the person I am making sad?
3 This 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.
4 I 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.
5 But 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 b all of you.
6 This punishment by the majority is severe enough for such a man.
7 So forgive and comfort him, or else he will drown in his excessive grief.
8 That’s why I’m urging you to assure him of your love.
9 I had also written to you to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in every way.
10 When you forgive someone, I do, too. Indeed, what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I did c in the presence of the Messiah d for your benefit,
11 so that we may not be outsmarted by Satan. After all, we are not unaware of his intentions.
12 When I went to Troas on behalf of the gospel of the Messiah, e the Lord opened a door for me,
13 but 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.
14 But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah f and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him.
15 To God we are the aroma of the Messiah g among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost.
16 To some people we are a deadly fragrance, h while to others we are a living fragrance. i Who is qualified for this?
17 At least we are not commercializing God’s word like so many others. Instead, we speak with sincerity in the Messiah’s j name, k like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God. l