The Message Bible MSG
The Latin Vulgate VUL
1 That's why I decided not to make another visit that could only be painful to both of us.
1
statui autem hoc ipse apud me ne iterum in tristitia venirem ad vos
2 If by merely showing up I would put you in an embarrassingly painful position, how would you then be free to cheer and refresh me?
2
si enim ego contristo vos et quis est qui me laetificet nisi qui contristatur ex me
3 That was my reason for writing a letter instead of coming - so I wouldn't have to spend a miserable time disappointing the very friends I had looked forward to cheering me up. I was convinced at the time I wrote it that what was best for me was also best for you.
3
et hoc ipsum scripsi ut non cum venero tristitiam super tristitiam habeam de quibus oportuerat me gaudere confidens in omnibus vobis quia meum gaudium omnium vestrum est
4 As it turned out, there was pain enough just in writing that letter, more tears than ink on the parchment. But I didn't write it to cause pain; I wrote it so you would know how much I care - oh, more than care - love you!
4
nam ex multa tribulatione et angustia cordis scripsi vobis per multas lacrimas non ut contristemini sed ut sciatis quam caritatem habeo abundantius in vobis
5 Now, regarding the one who started all this - the person in question who caused all this pain - I want you to know that I am not the one injured in this as much as, with a few exceptions, all of you. So I don't want to come down too hard.
5
si quis autem contristavit non me contristavit sed ex parte ut non onerem omnes vos
6 What the majority of you agreed to as punishment is punishment enough.
6
sufficit illi qui eiusmodi est obiurgatio haec quae fit a pluribus
7 Now is the time to forgive this man and help him back on his feet. If all you do is pour on the guilt, you could very well drown him in it.
7
ita ut e contra magis donetis et consolemini ne forte abundantiori tristitia absorbeatur qui eiusmodi est
8 My counsel now is to pour on the love.
8
propter quod obsecro vos ut confirmetis in illum caritatem
9 The focus of my letter wasn't on punishing the offender but on getting you to take responsibility for the health of the church.
9
ideo enim et scripsi ut cognoscam experimentum vestrum an in omnibus oboedientes sitis
10 So if you forgive him, I forgive him. Don't think I'm carrying around a list of personal grudges. The fact is that I'm joining in with your forgiveness, as Christ is with us, guiding us.
10
cui autem aliquid donatis et ego nam et ego quod donavi si quid donavi propter vos in persona Christi
11 After all, we don't want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief - we're not oblivious to his sly ways!
11
ut non circumveniamur a Satana non enim ignoramus cogitationes eius
12 When I arrived in Troas to proclaim the Message of the Messiah, I found the place wide open: God had opened the door; all I had to do was walk through it.
12
cum venissem autem Troadem propter evangelium Christi et ostium mihi apertum esset in Domino
13 But when I didn't find Titus waiting for me with news of your condition, I couldn't relax. Worried about you, I left and came on to Macedonia province looking for Titus and a reassuring word on you.
13
non habui requiem spiritui meo eo quod non invenerim Titum fratrem meum sed valefaciens eis profectus sum in Macedoniam
14 And I got it, thank God!
14
Deo autem gratias qui semper triumphat nos in Christo Iesu et odorem notitiae suae manifestat per nos in omni loco
15 Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation - an aroma redolent with life.
15
quia Christi bonus odor sumus Deo in his qui salvi fiunt et in his qui pereunt
16 But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.
16
aliis quidem odor mortis in mortem aliis autem odor vitae in vitam et ad haec quis tam idoneus
17 No - but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.
17
non enim sumus sicut plurimi adulterantes verbum Dei sed ex sinceritate sed sicut ex Deo coram Deo in Christo loquimur
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.