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?
Parallel translations
- 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?
- 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?
- NKJV To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
- NASB to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?
- NLT To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
To the perishing the gospel is a deadly stench, but to the saved it is a life-giving fragrance. Paul marvels at who is adequate for such weighty work.
Overview
The same message brings opposite results: condemnation to those who reject it and life to those who believe. Paul's question, 'Who is sufficient for these things?' confesses that such a ministry exceeds human ability. This humility prepares for his answer in chapter 3, that all sufficiency comes from God, not from the messenger.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Cor 3:5–6Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
- John 9:39And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
- 1 Pet 2:7–8Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
- Luke 2:34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
- 1 Cor 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
- Acts 13:45–47But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
- Acts 20:26–27Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
- 2 Cor 12:11I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.
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Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 2:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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