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2 Corinthians 2:5–11

Forgive the Sinner

Now yif anyone has caused pain, zhe has caused it not to me, but ain some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, bthis punishment by the majority is enough, so cyou should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might dtest you and know ewhether 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 fwe are not ignorant of his designs.

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2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — The New International Version (NIV)

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. 10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — New Living Translation (NLT)

I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.

I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. 10 When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, 11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — New Century Version (NCV)

Someone there among you has caused sadness, not to me, but to all of you. I mean he caused sadness to all in some way. (I do not want to make it sound worse than it really is.) The punishment that most of you gave him is enough for him. But now you should forgive him and comfort him to keep him from having too much sadness and giving up completely. So I beg you to show that you love him. I wrote you to test you and to see if you obey in everything. 10 If you forgive someone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if I had anything to forgive—I forgave it for you, as if Christ were with me. 11 I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us, because we know very well what Satan’s plans are.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — American Standard Version (ASV)

But if any hath caused sorrow, he hath caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I press not too heavily) to you all. Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the many; so that contrariwise ye should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you to confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye are obedient in all things. 10 But to whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I forgiven it in the presence of Christ; 11 that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

But if any one has grieved, he has grieved, not me, but in part (that I may not overcharge you) all of you. Sufficient to such a one is this rebuke which has been inflicted by the many; so that on the contrary ye should rather shew grace and encourage, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with excessive grief. Wherefore I exhort you to assure him of your love. For to this end also I have written, that I might know, by putting you to the test, if as to everything ye are obedient. 10 But to whom ye forgive anything, I also; for I also, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sakes in the person of Christ; 11 that we might not have Satan get an advantage against us, for we are not ignorant of his thoughts.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

If someone caused distress, I’m not the one really affected. To some extent—although I don’t want to emphasize this too much—it has affected all of you. The majority of you have imposed a severe enough punishment on that person. So now forgive and comfort him. Such distress could overwhelm someone like that if he’s not forgiven and comforted. That is why I urge you to assure him that you love him. I had also written to you to test you. I wanted to see if you would be obedient in every way. 

10 If you forgive someone, so do I. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did in the presence of Christ for your benefit. 11 I don’t want Satan to outwit us. After all, we are not ignorant about Satan’s scheming. 

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate —to all of you. The punishment inflicted by the majority is sufficient for that person. As a result, you should instead forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, this one may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. I wrote for this purpose: to test your character to see if you are obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for you in the presence of Christ. 11 I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

But if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but to some extent—not to exaggerate it—to all of you. This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person; so now instead you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. I wrote for this reason: to test you and to know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ. 11 And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

But if anyone has caused sorrow, he has not caused me sorrow, but to some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. This punishment by the majority is sufficient for such a person. So then, you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest somehow this person should be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Therefore I urge you to confirm your love for him. Because for this reason also I wrote, in order that I could know your proven character, whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Now to whomever you forgive anything, I also do; for indeed, whatever I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 in order that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Suppose someone has made us sad. In some ways, he hasn’t made me sad so much as he has made all of you sad. But I don’t want to put this too strongly. He has been punished because most of you decided he should be. That is enough for him.

Now you should forgive him and comfort him. Then he won’t be sad more than he can stand. So I’m asking you to tell him again that you still love him.

I wrote to you for a special reason. I wanted to see if you could stand the test. I wanted to see if you could obey everything that was asked of you.

10 Anyone you forgive I also forgive. Was there anything to forgive? If so, I have forgiven it for your benefit, knowing that Christ is watching. 11 We don’t want Satan to outsmart us. We know how he does his evil work.

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you.

Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority,

so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.

For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.

10 But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ,

11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.


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