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¹ For I made up my mind ^(a)not to make another painful visit to you. ² For ^(b)if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 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, ^(c)for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. ⁴ For ^(d)I wrote to you out of much affliction 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.

Forgive the Sinner

⁵ Now ^(e)if anyone has caused pain, ^(f)he has caused it not to me, but ^(g)in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. ⁶ For such a one, ^(h)this punishment by the majority is enough, ⁷ so ⁽ⁱ⁾you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ For this is why I wrote, that I might ^(j)test you and know ^(k)whether you are obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for ^(l)we are not ignorant of his designs.

Triumph in Christ

¹² When ^(m)I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though ⁽ⁿ⁾a door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ my spirit ^(o)was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴ But ^(p)thanks be to God, who in Christ always ^(q)leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads ^(r)the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among ^(s)those who are being saved and among ^(t)those who are perishing, ^16 (u)to one a fragrance from death to death, ^(v)to the other a fragrance from life to life. ^(w)Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.