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?
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?
- 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?
- 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?
- 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 account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God;
- John 9:39Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
- 1 Pet 2:7–8For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,”
- Luke 2:34and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
- 1 Cor 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; 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 jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.
- Acts 20:26–27Therefore I testify to you today that I am clean from the blood of all men,
- 2 Cor 12:11I have become foolish in boasting. You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for in nothing was I inferior to the very best apostles, though I am 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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