2:1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.

2:2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?

2:3 I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.

2:4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

2:5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent--not to put it too severely.

2:6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him.

2:7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

2:8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.

2:9 The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.

2:10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,

2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

2:12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

2:13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.

2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

2:15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

2:16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

2:17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.