2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Good News Translation
Victory through Christ
14 But thanks be to God! For in union with Christ we are always led by God as prisoners in Christ's victory procession. God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance. 15 For we are like a sweet-smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost. 16 For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life. Who, then, is capable for such a task? 17 We are not like so many others, who handle God's message as if it were cheap merchandise; but because God has sent us, we speak with sincerity in his presence, as servants of Christ.
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2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Holman Christian Standard Bible
A Ministry of Life or Death
14 But thanks be to God,(A) who always puts us on display[a] in Christ[b] and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.(B) 15 For to God we are the fragrance(C) of Christ among those who are being saved(D) and among those who are perishing.(E) 16 To some we are an aroma of death(F) leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life(G) leading to life. And who is competent for this? 17 For we are not like the many[c] who market God’s message(H) for profit. On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.
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- 2 Corinthians 2:14 Or always leads us in a triumphal procession, or always causes us to triumph
- 2 Corinthians 2:14 Lit in the Christ, or in the Messiah; 1Co 15:22; Eph 1:10,12,20; 3:11
- 2 Corinthians 2:17 Other mss read the rest
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
New English Translation
Apostolic Ministry
14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession[a] in Christ[b] and who makes known[c] through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing— 16 to the latter an odor[d] from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?[e] 17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit,[f] but we are speaking in Christ before[g] God as persons of sincerity,[h] as persons sent from God.
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- 2 Corinthians 2:14 tn Or “who always causes us to triumph.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:14 tn Or “in the Messiah.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:14 tn Or “who reveals.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:16 tn The same Greek word (ὀσμή, osmē) translated “odor” here (in relation to the stench of death) has been translated “fragrance” in 2:14 and in the next phrase of the present verse. The word itself can describe a smell or odor either agreeable or disagreeable depending on the context (L&N 79.45).
- 2 Corinthians 2:16 sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17 tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kapēleuontes) refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed—“to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle…for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17 tn Or “in the presence of.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:17 tn Or “persons of pure motives.”
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
New Living Translation
Ministers of the New Covenant
14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. 15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?
17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters[a] who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.
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- 2:17 Some manuscripts read the rest of the hucksters.
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
English Standard Version
14 But (A)thanks be to God, who in Christ always (B)leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads (C)the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among (D)those who are being saved and among (E)those who are perishing, 16 (F)to one a fragrance from death to death, (G)to the other a fragrance from life to life. (H)Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
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