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But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate)[a] he has saddened all of you as well. This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, so that now instead[b] you should rather forgive and comfort him.[c] This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair.[d] Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.[e] For this reason also I wrote you:[f] to test you to see[g] if you are obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him—for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may not be exploited[h] by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 2:5 tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”
  2. 2 Corinthians 2:7 tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”
  3. 2 Corinthians 2:7 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.
  4. 2 Corinthians 2:7 tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  5. 2 Corinthians 2:8 tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”
  6. 2 Corinthians 2:9 tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).
  7. 2 Corinthians 2:9 tn Grk “to know the proof of you,” that is, to know if the Corinthians’ obedience to Paul as an apostle was genuine (L&N 72.7).
  8. 2 Corinthians 2:11 tn Or “be taken advantage of.”

Forgive and Comfort the Offender

But if anyone has caused sorrow, he has not caused me sorrow, but to some degree[a]in order not to say too much[b]to all of you. This punishment by the majority is sufficient for such a person. So then, you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest somehow this person should be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Therefore I urge you to confirm your love for him. Because for this reason also I wrote, in order that I could know your proven character, whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Now to whomever you forgive anything, I also do; for indeed, whatever I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sake[c] in the presence of Christ, 11 in order that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 2:5 Literally “in part”
  2. 2 Corinthians 2:5 Literally “in order not to burden”
  3. 2 Corinthians 2:10 Literally “for the sake of you”