2 Corinthians 2:1-3:6

New King James Version

Paul Urges Forgiveness

2 But I determined this within myself, ^(A)that I would not come again to you in sorrow. ² For if I make you ^(B)sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

Forgive the Offender

³ And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, ^(C)I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, ^(D)having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. ⁴ For out of much ^[a]affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, ^(E)not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

⁵ But ^(F)if anyone has caused grief, he has not ^(G)grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. ⁶ This punishment which was inflicted ^(H)by the majority is sufficient for such a man, ^7 (I)so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. ⁸ Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. ⁹ For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are ^(J)obedient in all things. ¹⁰ Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For ^[b]if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Triumph in Christ

¹² Furthermore, ^(K)when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and ^(L)a ^[c]door was opened to me by the Lord, ^13 (M)I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

¹⁴ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us ^[d]diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ ^(N)among those who are being saved and ^(O)among those who are perishing. ^16 (P)To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And ^(Q)who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, as ^[e]so many, ^(R)peddling^[f] the word of God; but as ^(S)of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

Christ’s Epistle^(T)

3 Do ^(U)we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, ^(V)epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? ^2 (W)You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ³ clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ^(X)ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not ^(Y)on tablets of stone but ^(Z)on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

The Spirit, Not the Letter

⁴ And we have such trust through Christ toward God. ^5 (AA)Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but ^(AB)our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who also made us sufficient as ^(AC)ministers of ^(AD)the new covenant, not ^(AE)of the letter but of the ^[g]Spirit; for ^(AF)the letter kills, ^(AG)but the Spirit gives life.