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2 Corinthians 2:16

Witness and missionSalvation

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

15 For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?

17 For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

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Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
KJV
To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
WEB
to the one a stench from death to death, to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
ASV
to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
DARBY
to the one an odour from death unto death, but to the others an odour from life unto life; and who [is] sufficient for these things?
BLB
to one indeed a smell from death to death, but to one a smell from life to life. And who [is] sufficient for these things?
ÅB
for disse en duft av død til død, for hine en duft av liv til liv. Og hvem er vel duelig til dette?
OTB
For noen en duft fra død til død, for andre en duft fra liv til liv. Og hvem er tilstrekkelig for disse tingene?
B1930
for disse en duft av død til død, for hine en duft av liv til liv. Og hvem er vel duelig til dette?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • 2 Corinthians 3:5–6

    Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.

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  • John 9:39

    Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”

    Read in context

  • 1 Peter 2:7–8

    To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

    Read in context

  • Luke 2:34

    Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

    Read in context

  • 1 Corinthians 15:10

    But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

    Read in context

  • Acts 13:45–47

    But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.

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  • Acts 20:26–27

    Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

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  • 2 Corinthians 12:11

    I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.

    Read in context