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1.
So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.
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2.
For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
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3.
I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.
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4.
For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
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5.
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.
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6.
The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him.
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7.
Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
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8.
I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
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9.
The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.
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10.
If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,
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11.
in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
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12.
Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,
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13.
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
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14.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
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15.
For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
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16.
To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
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17.
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
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