2:14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession 14 in Christ 15 and who makes known 16 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 17 from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 18 2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, 19 but we are speaking in Christ before 20 God as persons of sincerity, 21 as persons sent from God.
1 tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”
2 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.
3 tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
4 tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”
5 tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).
6 tn Grk “to know the proof of you,” that is, to know if the Corinthians’ obedience to Paul as an apostle was genuine (L&N 72.7).
7 tn Or “be taken advantage of.”
8 sn Troas was a city and region in the northwest corner of Asia Minor.
9 tn This has been translated as a concessive participle (“even though”). The passive construction (“a door of opportunity had been opened for me by the Lord”) has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Grk “a door”; the phrase ἀνοίγω θύραν (anoigw quran, “to open a door”) is an idiom meaning “to make possible some opportunity” (L&N 71.9).
11 tn Or “I had no peace of mind.”
12 tn Or “I took my leave of them.”
13 tn Since this refers to the outset of a journey, the aorist ἐξῆλθον (exhlqon) is taken ingressively.
14 tn Or “who always causes us to triumph.”
15 tn Or “in the Messiah.”
16 tn Or “who reveals.”
17 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).
18 sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.
19 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.
20 tn Or “in the presence of.”
21 tn Or “persons of pure motives.”