2:14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession 1 in Christ 2 and who makes known 3 through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 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 4 from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 5 2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, 6 but we are speaking in Christ before 7 God as persons of sincerity, 8 as persons sent from God.
1 tn Or “who always causes us to triumph.”
2 tn Or “in the Messiah.”
3 tn Or “who reveals.”
4 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).
5 sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.
6 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.
7 tn Or “in the presence of.”
8 tn Or “persons of pure motives.”