2 Corinthians 2:9-17

2:9 For this reason also I wrote you: ¹  to test you to see ²  if you are obedient in everything. 2:10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him – for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, 2:11 so that we may not be exploited ³  by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). 2:12 Now when I arrived in Troas ⁴  to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened ⁵  a door of opportunity ⁶  for me, 2:13 I had no relief in my spirit, ⁷  because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them ⁸  and set out ⁹  for Macedonia.

Apostolic Ministry

2:14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession ¹⁰  in Christ ¹¹  and who makes known ¹²  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 ¹³  from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? ¹⁴  2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, ¹⁵  but we are speaking in Christ before ¹⁶  God as persons of sincerity, ¹⁷  as persons sent from God.

¹ tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).

² 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).

³ tn Or “be taken advantage of.”

⁴ sn Troas was a city and region in the northwest corner of Asia Minor.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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).

⁷ tn Or “I had no peace of mind.”

⁸ tn Or “I took my leave of them.”

⁹ tn Since this refers to the outset of a journey, the aorist ἐξῆλθον (exhlqon) is taken ingressively.

¹⁰ tn Or “who always causes us to triumph.”

¹¹ tn Or “in the Messiah.”

¹² tn Or “who reveals.”

¹³ 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).

¹⁴ sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ tn Or “in the presence of.”

¹⁷ tn Or “persons of pure motives.”