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.

But I made up my mind ^anot to grieve you with another painful visit. 2 For if I ^acause you grief by a well-deserved rebuke, who then provides me enjoyment but the very one whom I have made sad? 3 And I ^1awrote this same thing to you, so that ^bwhen I came, I would not be filled with sorrow by those who ought to make me glad, for I trusted in you and ^cfelt confident that my joy would be shared by all of you. 4 For I ^awrote to you out of great distress and with an anguished heart, and with many tears, not to cause you sorrow but to make you realize the overflowing love which I have especially for you.

5 But ^aif ¹someone has caused all this sorrow, he has caused it not to me, but in some degree—not to put it too severely— he has distressed and grieved all of you. 6 For such a one ^athis punishment by the majority is sufficient, 7 so instead of further rebuke, now you should rather graciously ^aforgive and comfort and encourage him, to keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reinstate him in your affections and reaffirm your ¹love for him. 9 For this was my purpose in ^awriting, to see if you ^bwould stand the test, whether you are obedient and ^ccommitted to following my instruction in all things. 10 If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive that one; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake ^ain the presence of and with the approval of Christ, 11 to keep ^aSatan from taking advantage of us; for ^bwe are not ignorant of his schemes.

12 Now when I arrived at ^aTroas to preach the ^bgood news of Christ, even though a ^cdoor of opportunity opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit ^acould not rest because I did not find my brother ^bTitus there; so ^csaying goodbye to them, I left for ^dMacedonia.

14 ^aBut thanks be to God, who always ^bleads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet ^cfragrance of the ^dknowledge of Him. 15 For we are the ^asweet fragrance of Christ which ascends to God, discernible both among ^bthose who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 ^ato the latter one an aroma from death to death a fatal, offensive odor, but to the other an aroma from life to life a vital fragrance, living and fresh. And who is ^badequate and sufficiently qualified for these things? 17 For we are not like many, acting like merchants ^apeddling God’s word shortchanging and adulterating God’s message; but ^bfrom pure uncompromised motives, as commissioned and sent from God, we speak His message in Christ ^cin the sight of God.

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.