Kwa sababu hiyo, niliamua kwamba sitafanya safari nyingine kuja kuwahuzunisha. Kwa kuwa kama nawahuzunisha, ni nani ali yebaki kunifurahisha isipokuwa ninyi ambao nimewahuzunisha? Ndio sababu nikawaandikia ili nitakapokuja nisihuzunishwe na watu ambao wangenifanya nifurahi. Nilikuwa na uhakika kwenu kwamba furaha yangu ingekuwa furaha yenu nyote. Kwa maana nili waandikia katika dhiki na kutaabika moyoni na kwa machozi mengi. Shabaha yangu haikuwa kuwahuzunisha bali kuwaonyesha kina cha upendo wangu kwenu.

Msamaha Kwa Mwenye Dhambi

Basi ikiwa mtu ye yote amesababisha huzuni, kwa kiasi fulani hakunihuzunisha mimi kama alivyowahuzunisha ninyi nyote; sipendi kuweka uzito zaidi kwa upande wenu. Basi adhabu aliyop ewa na wengi inamtosha. Na sasa mnapaswa kumsamehe na kumfariji ili asikate tamaa kabisa kutokana na huzuni kubwa mno aliyo nayo. Kwa hiyo nawasihi mumhakikishie tena kwamba mnampenda. Nili waandikia kuwajaribu ili nione kama mtakuwa watii kwa kila kitu. 10 Mtu ye yote mnayemsamehe na mimi namsamehe. Cho chote nili chosamehe, kama kulikuwa na cha kusamehe, nimesamehe kwa ajili yenu mbele ya Kristo 11 ili shetani asije akatushinda. Kwa maana tunajua mipango yake.

12 Nilipofika Troa kuhubiri Injili ya Kristo, nilikuta Bwana ameshafungua mlango. 13 Lakini sikuweza kutulia kwa sababu sikumkuta ndugu yangu Tito huko. Kwa hiyo nikaagana nao nikaenda Makedonia.

Ushindi Ndani Ya Kristo

14 Lakini Mungu ashukuriwe, ambaye hutuongoza katika ushindi tukiwa ndani ya Kristo. Naye hututumia sisi kueneza maarifa ya kumjua yeye kila mahali kama harufu nzuri. 15 Kwa Mungu sisi ni kama harufu nzuri ya manukato ya Kristo ambayo inatapakaa mion goni mwa wale wanaookolewa na wale wanaopotea. 16 Kwa wale wanaopotea sisi ni kama harufu ya kifo, lakini kwa wale wanaooko lewa sisi ni harufu iletayo uzima. Ni nani basi awezaye kufanya kazi hiyo? 17 Sisi si kama watu wengine ambao wanauza neno la Mungu wajipatie faida. Lakini kama watu wenye moyo safi, tuliot euliwa na Mungu mbele yake mwenyewe, sisi tunazungumza tukiwa ndani ya Kristo.

So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.(A) For if I grieve you,(B) who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? I wrote as I did,(C) so that when I came I would not be distressed(D) by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence(E) in all of you, that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you(F) 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.

Forgiveness for the Offender

If anyone has caused grief,(G) he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment(H) inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him,(I) so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Another reason I wrote you(J) was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.(K) 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan(L) might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.(M)

Ministers of the New Covenant

12 Now when I went to Troas(N) to preach the gospel of Christ(O) and found that the Lord had opened a door(P) for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind,(Q) because I did not find my brother Titus(R) there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.(S)

14 But thanks be to God,(T) who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma(U) of the knowledge(V) of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma(W) of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.(X) 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death;(Y) to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?(Z) 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.(AA) On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity,(AB) as those sent from God.(AC)