2 Corinthians 2–3

2¹In fact, I made up my mind about this: ^gI would not come to you on another painful visit. ^h2For if I cause you pain, then who will cheer me other than the one being hurt by me? ⁱ³I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident ^jabout all of you that my joy will also be yours. ⁴For I wrote to you with many tears out of an extremely troubled and anguished heart—not that you should be hurt, but that you should know the abundant love I have for you.

A Sinner Forgiven

⁵If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate ^k—to all of you. ⁶The punishment inflicted by the majority is sufficient for that person. ⁷As a result, you should instead forgive ^land comfort him. Otherwise, this one may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. ⁸Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. ⁹I wrote for this purpose: to test your character ^mto see if you are obedient ⁿin everything. ¹⁰If 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. ¹¹I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage ^oof by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.

A Trip to Macedonia

¹²When I came to Troas ^pto preach the gospel of Christ, the Lord opened a door ^qfor me. ¹³I had no rest ^rin my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus, ^sbut I said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia. ^t

A Ministry of Life or Death

¹⁴But thanks be to God, ^uwho always puts us on display ^vin Christ ^wand through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. ^x15For to God we are the fragrance ^yof Christ among those who are being saved ^zand among those who are perishing. ^a16To some we are an aroma of death ^bleading to death, but to others, an aroma of life ^cleading to life. And who is competent for this? ¹⁷For we are not like the many ^dwho market God’s message ^efor profit. On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.

Living Letters

3Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ²You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, recognized and read by everyone. ^f3It is clear that you are Christ’s letter, ^gproduced ^hby us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God ⁱ—not on stone tablets ^jbut on tablets that are hearts of flesh. ^k

Paul’s Competence

⁴We have this kind of confidence toward God through Christ. ⁵It is not that we are competent in ^lourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God. ^m6He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, ⁿnot of the letter, ^obut of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit produces life.

New Covenant Ministry

⁷Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory, ^pso that the Israelites were not able to look directly at Moses’ face because of the glory from his face—a fading glory— ⁸how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? ⁹For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness overflows with even more glory. ¹⁰In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious now by comparison because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹For if what was fading away ^qwas glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.

¹²Therefore, having such a hope, ^rwe use great boldness. ¹³We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face ^sso that the Israelites could not stare at the end of what was fading away, ¹⁴but their minds were closed. ^tuFor to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, ^vthe same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ. ^w15Even to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, ¹⁶but whenever a person turns ^xto the Lord, the veil is removed. ^y17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at ^zathe glory of the Lord ^band are being transformed ^cinto the same image ^dfrom glory to glory; ^ethis is from the Lord who is the Spirit. ^f