Text -- 2 Corinthians 2:15-17 (NET)

2:15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing– 2:16 to the latter an odor from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, but we are speaking in Christ before God as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Co 2:16

¹ tn The same Greek word (ὀσμή, osmh) translated “odor” here (in relation to the stench of death) has been translated “fragrance” in 2:14 and in the next phrase of the present verse. The word itself can describe a smell or odor either agreeable or disagreeable depending on the context (L&N 79.45).

² sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.

NET Notes: 2Co 2:17

¹ tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kaphleuonte") refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed – “to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle…for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term.

² tn Or “in the presence of.”

³ tn Or “persons of pure motives.”