章 |
2:1 |
So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.
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2:2 |
For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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2:6 |
The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him.
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2:7 |
Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
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2:8 |
I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
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2:9 |
The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.
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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,
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2:11 |
in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
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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,
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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.
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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.
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2:15 |
For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
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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?
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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.
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