New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit.
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But it was my decision for myself, not to come again to you with sorrow.
2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained?
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For if I give you sorrow, who then will make me glad, but he who is made sad by me?
3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you.
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And I said this very thing in my letter, for fear that when I came I might have sorrow from those from whom it was right for me to have joy; being certain of this, that my joy is the joy of you all.
4 For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
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For out of much trouble and pain of heart and much weeping I sent my letter to you; not to give you sorrow, but so that you might see how great is the love which I have to you.
5 But if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but to some extent—not to exaggerate it—to all of you.
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But if anyone has been a cause of sorrow, he has been so, not to me only, but in some measure to all of you (I say this that I may not be over-hard on you).
6 This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person;
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Let it be enough for such a man to have undergone the punishment which the church put on him;
7 so now instead you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
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So that now, on the other hand, it is right for him to have forgiveness and comfort from you, for fear that his sorrow may be over-great.
8 So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.
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For which cause my desire is that you will make your love to him clear by your acts.
9 I wrote for this reason: to test you and to know whether you are obedient in everything.
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And for the same reason I sent you a letter so that I might be certain of your desire to do my orders in all things.
10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ.
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But if you give forgiveness to anyone, I do the same: for if I have given forgiveness for anything, I have done it because of you, in the person of Christ;
11 And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
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So that Satan may not get the better of us: for we are not without knowledge of his designs.
12 When I came to Troas to proclaim the good news of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord;
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Now when I came to Troas for the good news of Christ, and there was an open door for me in the Lord,
13 but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said farewell to them and went on to Macedonia.
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I had no rest in my spirit because Titus my brother was not there: so I went away from them, and came into Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.
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But praise be to God who makes us strong to overcome in Christ, and makes clear through us in every place the value of the knowledge of him.
15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;
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For we are a sweet perfume of Christ to God in those who are getting salvation and in those who are going to destruction;
16 to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
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To the one it is a perfume of death to death; to the other a perfume of life to life. And who is enough for such things?
17 For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.
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For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.