2 Corinthians 2:5-11
New Living Translation
Forgiveness for the Sinner
5 I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. 6 Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. 7 Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. 8 So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.
9 I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. 10 When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, 11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.
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2 Corinthians 2:5-11
New English Translation
5 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. 6 This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, 7 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] 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.[e] 9 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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- 2 Corinthians 2:5 tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”
- 2 Corinthians 2:7 tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 2 Corinthians 2:8 tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:9 tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).
- 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).
- 2 Corinthians 2:11 tn Or “be taken advantage of.”
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