5 For we know that, if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.^{(A) 2} For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³ for surely when we have been clothed in it^[a] we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burden because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.^{(B) 5} The one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a down payment.^(C)

⁶ So we are always confident, even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight.^{(D) 8} Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. ¹⁰ For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive due recompense for actions done in the body, whether good or evil.^(E)

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.^{(F) 12} We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.^{(G) 13} For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.^{(H) 14} For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.^{(I) 15} And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;^[b] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,^[c] we no longer know him in that way.^{(J) 17} So if anyone is in Christ, there^[d] is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!^{[e](K) 18} All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;^{(L) 19} that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,^[f] not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.^{(M) 20} So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.^{(N) 21} For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.^(O)

2 ¹ So I made up my mind not to make another visit that causes you grief.^{(A) 2} For if I cause you grief, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have grieved? ³ And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer grief from those who should have made me rejoice, for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you.^{(B) 4} For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you grief but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

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;^{(C) 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.^{(D) 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^[a] of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord,^{(E) 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.^{[b] 15} For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:^{(F) 16} to the one group a fragrance from death^[c] to death, to the other a fragrance from life^[d] to life. Who is qualified for these things?^{(G) 17} For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many,^[e] but as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God, we are speaking in Christ before God.^(H)