1 So I gave up a visit that would again be a distressing one.
2 If I make you sad, who will make me happy if not you whom I have grieved?
3 Remember what I wrote you, “May it be that when I come I do not feel sad because of you, who should rather make me happy.” I trust in everyone and I am sure that my joy will be the joy of you all.
4 So afflicted and worried was I when I wrote to you, that I even shed tears. I did not intend to cause you pain, but rather to let you know of the immense love that I have for you.
5 If anyone has caused me pain, he has hurt not me but in some measure, (I do not wish to exaggerate) all of you.
6 The punishment that he received from the majority is enough for him.
7 Now you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest excessive sorrow discourage him.
8 So I beg you to treat him with love.
9 This is why I wrote to you, to test you and to know if you would obey in everything.
10 The one you forgive, I also forgive. And what I forgave, if indeed I had anything to forgive, I forgave for your sake in the presence of Christ,
11 lest Satan take advantage of us; for we know his designs.
We are the fragrance of Christ
12 So I came to Troas to preach the Gospel of Christ, and the Lord opened doors for me.
13 How ever I could not be at peace because I did not find my brother Titus there, so I took leave of them and went to Mace donia.
14 Thanks be to God, who always leads us in the triumphant following of Christ and, through us, spreads the knowledge of him everywhere, like an aroma.
15 We are Christ’s fragrance rising up to God, and perceived by those who are saved as well as by those who are lost.
16 To the latter, it smells of death and leads them to death. To others it is the fragrance of life and leads to life.
17 But who is worthy of such a mission? Unlike so many who make money out of the word of God, we speak with sincerity: everything comes from God and is said in his presence, in Christ.