2 Corinthians 2
1 Anyway, I definitely decided that I would not come to visit you again [now. If I had come, I would have spoken severely to you again, and] I would have made you unhappy as I did the last time [I visited you].
Ἔκρινα δὲ ἐμαυτῷ τοῦτο, τὸ μὴ πάλιν ἐν λύπῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐλθεῖν.
2 [And] if I make you unhappy, I will have made unhappy [the only people who can cheer me up], so (there will be none of you to cheer me up!/who would cheer me up?) [RHQ]
Εἰ γὰρ ἐγὼ λυπῶ ὑμᾶς, καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ εὐφραίνων με, εἰ μὴ ὁ λυπούμενος ἐξ ἐμοῦ;
3 So, [instead of going to visit you at that time], I wrote a letter [and sent it to you]. I wrote it the way I did so that [you would know what you should do. Then] when I come to visit you, you will not make me unhappy when you should be causing me to rejoice. I was quite sure that all of you [would do what I told you to do in that letter, and because of that] I would be happy and you would be happy, too.
Καὶ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν τοῦτο αὐτό, ἵνα μὴ ἐλθὼν λύπην ἔχω ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἔδει με χαίρειν, πεποιθὼς ἐπὶ πάντας ὑμᾶς, ὅτι ἡ ἐμὴ χαρὰ πάντων ὑμῶν ἐστιν.
4 I wrote to you [the way I did] because I felt very troubled and distressed about you. I was even crying very much as I wrote. [My purpose in writing was] not in order to make you feel bad, but, instead, in order that you might know how deeply/much I love you.
Ἐκ γὰρ πολλῆς θλίψεως καὶ συνοχῆς καρδίας ἔγραψα ὑμῖν διὰ πολλῶν δακρύων, οὐχ ἵνα λυπηθῆτε, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀγάπην ἵνα γνῶτε ἣν ἔχω περισσοτέρως εἰς ὑμᾶς.
5 [Now I want to write about the man who] caused all this anguish. [What he did was very wrong, but] I know that it has caused you much more sorrow than it has caused me, because [what he did] has [affected] all of you [to some extent. I say], “to some extent,” [because I do not want to say that he has] done more harm [than he really has done].
Εἰ δέ τις λελύπηκεν, οὐκ ἐμὲ λελύπηκεν, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ μέρους—ἵνα μὴ ἐπιβαρῶ—πάντας ὑμᾶς.
6 [Since he has now stopped sinning in that way], the punishment that nearly all of you [decided was right for him] has continued long enough.
Ἱκανὸν τῷ τοιούτῳ ἡ ἐπιτιμία αὕτη ἡ ὑπὸ τῶν πλειόνων·
7 So now, instead [of punishing him any longer], you need to forgive him and deal kindly with him. [If you do not forgive him], he may become so sad that he will begin to [think that you will never forgive him] (OR, will stop [believing in Christ]).
ὥστε τοὐναντίον μᾶλλον ὑμᾶς χαρίσασθαι καὶ παρακαλέσαι, μήπως τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος.
8 For those reasons, I beg you to [forgive him and accept him into your group again, and by doing that] assure him that you truly love him.
Διὸ παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς κυρῶσαι εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπην.
9 [I feel sure that you will do as I ask], because when I wrote [severely] to you [before], I did it to test you by finding out whether or not you really would do everything [that I, as your apostle, asked you to do].
Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἔγραψα, ἵνα γνῶ τὴν δοκιμὴν ὑμῶν, εἰ εἰς πάντα ὑπήκοοί ἐστε.
10 So [since you obeyed what I told you before, I feel sure that now you will obey what I am writing in this letter] and forgive the man, as I have done, because I indeed have forgiven him for the wrong thing that he did. Anything he needed me to forgive him for, I have forgiven, and Christ knows [that I have forgiven him sincerely. I have done that mainly] to help you [so that you and I will again have fellowship with each other, and that you will accept him into your group again].
ᾯ δέ τι χαρίζεσθε, καὶ ἐγώ· καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ εἴ τι κεχάρισμαι, ᾧ κεχάρισμαι, δι᾽ ὑμᾶς ἐν προσώπῳ Χριστοῦ,
11 [I want you to forgive him] so that Satan will not be able to take advantage of [the problems among] us [and make the situation worse]. We know very well [LIT] that Satan is always planning to [cause problems among us].
ἵνα μὴ πλεονεκτηθῶμεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ· οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν.
12 [I will continue by telling you what I did after I wrote to you from Ephesus city]. I went to Troas [city] in order to [tell people] the message [about] Christ. [When I arrived there], I found [many people] who had been prepared by the Lord [Jesus] [MET] [to listen to what I told them about him].
Ἐλθὼν δὲ εἰς τὴν Τρῳάδα εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ θύρας μοι ἀνεῳγμένης ἐν Κυρίῳ,
13 But because my fellow believer Titus had not [arrived with a report from you], I still felt very anxious and concerned [about you]. So, [after spending only a short time at Troas], I said goodbye to [the believers who were there] and came [here] to Macedonia [province to find Titus].
οὐκ ἔσχηκα ἄνεσιν τῷ πνεύματί μου, τῷ μὴ εὑρεῖν με Τίτον τὸν ἀδελφόν μου· ἀλλὰ ἀποταξάμενος αὐτοῖς ἐξῆλθον εἰς Μακεδονίαν.
14 However, [before I tell you any more about that], I [want to] thank God [for what he is doing. As a great leader of fighting men causes all his prisoners to take part in his victory parade] [MET], God leads us [who are his workers] to always be victorious [over Satan because of our(exc) close relationship with Christ. God causes people to come to] know Jesus Christ as a result of our [(exc) teaching his message. That message is like] [MET] the smell of perfume.
Τῷ δὲ Θεῷ χάρις τῷ πάντοτε θριαμβεύοντι ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ, καὶ τὴν ὀσμὴν τῆς γνώσεως αὐτοῦ φανεροῦντι δι᾽ ἡμῶν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ.
15 [When we(exc) tell God’s message] about Christ, it [spreads out among people] like the smell of perfume. [Those who believe the message that we tell them] are saved {[Jesus Christ] saves them} [from the guilt of their sin. But those who reject that message] will be separated from God [forever].
Ὅτι Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμὲν τῷ Θεῷ ἐν τοῖς σῳζομένοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις·
16 To those who [are on the way to hell, our message is like] [MET] a foul smell [because it is about dying] and being separated from God forever. But, to those [on the way to heaven, the message that we teach is like] a pure fragrant smell, [because we tell them] that they will live [forever with God. As we think about that, we think] (no one is able [to do] such important work [for God!]/how can anyone be able [to do] such important work [for God]?) [RHQ] (questioned)
οἷς μὲν ὀσμὴ θανάτου εἰς θάνατον, οἷς δὲ ὀσμὴ ζωῆς εἰς ζωήν. Καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκανός;
17 [But perhaps God considers us(exc) able], because we do not work/act like so many [others whom you know]. They teach God’s message in a way that [they think people will like, and they think that] people will pay them for teaching that way. We [(exc) certainly do not do that]. On the contrary, [as servants of] Christ, and knowing that God is watching us [(exc)], we teach sincerely [the message that] God sent us to proclaim.
Οὐ γάρ ἐσμεν ὡς οἱ λοιποί, καπηλεύοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐξ εἰλικρινείας, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐκ Θεοῦ, κατενώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐν Χριστῷ λαλοῦμεν.
