2Cor 2 | BSB | STEP | [So] I made up my mind not to make another painful {visit} to you.

2 Corinthians 2

Reaffirm Your Love

1 [So] I made up my mind not to make another painful {visit} to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who [is left] to cheer me but those [whom] I have grieved? 3 I wrote as I did so that on my arrival I would not be saddened by [those] who ought {to make} me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you [would share] my joy. 4 For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you. 5 Now if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you— to some degree, not to overstate [it] . 6 The punishment [imposed on him] by the majority [is] sufficient for him. 7 So instead, you ought to forgive and comfort [him] , so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm [your] love for him. 9 {My} purpose in writing [you] [was] to see if you would stand the test [and] be obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I also [forgive him] . And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven [it] in [the] presence of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Triumph in Christ

12 Now when I went to Troas [to preach] the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in [the] Lord, 13 I had no peace in my spirit, [because] I did not find my brother Titus [there] . [So] I said goodbye to them [and] went on to Macedonia. 14 But thanks [be] to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of [the] knowledge of Him. 15 For we are to God [the] sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To [the] one, [we are] an odor of death [and] demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who [is] qualified for such [a task] ? 17 For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God {for profit} . On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.