2 Corinthians 1:21-2:17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
21 But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us,(A) 22 who has put his seal on us and given[a] us his Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.(B)
23 But I call on God as witness against me: it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth.(C) 24 I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy because you stand firm in faith.(D) 2 1
Forgiveness for the Offender
5 But if anyone has caused grief, he has caused it not to me but to some extent—not to exaggerate it—to all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person;(G) 7 so now instead you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by even worse grief. 8 So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 I wrote for this reason: to test you and to know whether you are obedient in everything.(H) 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. In fact, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ. 11 And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Paul’s Anxiety in Troas
12 When I came to Troas to proclaim the good news[b] of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord,(I) 13 but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said farewell to them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.[c] 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:(J) 16 to the one group a fragrance from death[d] to death, to the other a fragrance from life[e] to life. Who is qualified for these things?(K) 17 For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many,[f] but as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God, we are speaking in Christ before God.(L)
Footnotes
- 1.22 Other ancient authorities read by putting . . . and giving
- 2.12 Or the gospel
- 2.14 Gk the fragrance of the knowledge of him
- 2.16 Other ancient authorities read fragrance of death that leads
- 2.16 Other ancient authorities read fragrance of life that leads
- 2.17 Other ancient authorities read like the rest
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.