But I determined this ¹for my own sake, that I ^awould not come to you again in sorrow. 2 For if I ^acause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? 3 And this is the very thing I ^awrote you, so that ^bwhen I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having ^cconfidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I ^awrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have abundantly for you.

5 But ^aif any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—¹in order not to say too much—to all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a one is ^athis punishment which was inflicted by the majority, 7 so that on the contrary you should rather ^agraciously forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I encourage you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For to this end also ^aI wrote, so that I might ^bknow your proven character, whether you are ^cobedient in all things. 10 But one whom you graciously forgive anything, I graciously forgive also. For indeed what I have graciously forgiven, if I have graciously forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes ^ain the presence of Christ, 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by ^aSatan, for ^bwe are not ignorant of his schemes.

12 Now when I came to ^aTroas for the ^bgospel of Christ and when a ^cdoor was opened for me in the Lord, 13 I ^ahad no rest for my spirit, not finding ^bTitus my brother. But ^csaying farewell to them, I went on to ^dMacedonia.

14 ^aBut thanks be to God, who always ^bleads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and manifests through us the ^caroma of the ^dknowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a ^afragrance of Christ to God among ^bthose who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 ^ato the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is ^bsufficient for these things? 17 For we are not like many, ^1apeddling the word of God, but ^bas from sincerity, but as from God, ^cin the sight of God, we speak in Christ.

But I decided this ¹for my own sake, that I ^awould not come to you in sorrow again. 2 For if I ^acause you sorrow, who then will be the one making me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? 3 This is the very thing I ^awrote you, so that ^bwhen I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having ^cconfidence in you all that my joy was the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I ^awrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

5 But ^aif anyone has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not for me, but in some degree—¹not to say too much—for all of you. 6 Sufficient for such a person is ^athis punishment which was imposed by the majority, 7 so that on the other hand, you should rather ^aforgive and comfort him, otherwise such a person might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For to this end ^aI also wrote, so that I might ^1bput you to the test, whether you are ^cobedient in all things. 10 But one whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did so for your sakes ^ain the presence of Christ, 11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by ^aSatan, for ^bwe are not ignorant of his schemes.

12 Now when I came to ^aTroas for the ^bgospel of Christ and when a ^cdoor was opened for me in the Lord, 13 I ^ahad no rest for my spirit, not finding ^bTitus my brother; but ^csaying goodbye to them, I went on to ^dMacedonia.

14 ^aBut thanks be to God, who always ^bleads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the ^cfragrance of the ^dknowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a ^afragrance of Christ to God among ^bthose who are being saved and among those who are perishing: 16 ^ato the one an ¹aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is ^badequate for these things? 17 For we are not like the many, ^1apeddling the word of God, but ^bas from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ ^cin the sight of God.