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2 Corinthians 2:1–4

For I made up my mind unot to make another painful visit to you. For vif I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, wfor I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For xI wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

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2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)

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

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)

So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)

So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another one to make you sad. If I make you sad, who will make me glad? Only you can make me glad—particularly the person whom I made sad. I wrote you a letter for this reason: that when I came to you I would not be made sad by the people who should make me happy. I felt sure of all of you, that you would share my joy. When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and unhappy in my heart, and I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)

But I determined this for myself, that I would not come again to you with sorrow. For if I make you sorry, who then is he that maketh me glad but he that is made sorry by me? And I wrote this very thing, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

But I have judged this with myself, not to come back to you in grief. For if I grieve you, who also is it that gladdens me, if not he that is grieved through me? And I have written this very letter to you, that coming I may not have grief from those from whom I ought to have joy; trusting in you all that my joy is that of you all. For out of much tribulation and distress of heart I wrote to you, with many tears; not that ye may be grieved, but that ye may know the love which I have very abundantly towards you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

I decided not to visit you again while I was distressed. After all, if I had made you uncomfortable, how could you have cheered me up when you were uncomfortable? 

This is the very reason I wrote to you. I didn’t want to visit you and be distressed by those who should make me happy. I’m confident about all of you that whatever makes me happy also makes you happy. 

I was deeply troubled and anguished. In fact, I had tears in my eyes when I wrote to you. I didn’t write to make you uncomfortable but to let you know how much I love you. 

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

In fact, I made up my mind about this: I would not come to you on another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, then who will cheer me other than the one being hurt by me? I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident about all of you that my joy will also be yours. For I wrote to you with many tears out of an extremely troubled and anguished heart—not that you should be hurt, but that you should know the abundant love I have for you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you. For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

For I have decided this for myself, not to come to you again in sorrow. For if I cause you sorrow, then who will make me glad except the one who is caused to be sad by me? And I wrote this very thing in order that when I came, I would not experience sorrow from those who ought to have made me glad, because I have confidence about you all, that my joy belongs to all of you. For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you through many tears, not so that you may be caused to be sad, but so that you may know the love that I have especially for you.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. If I make you sad, who is going to make me glad? Only you, the one I made sad.

I wrote what I did for a special reason. When I came, I didn’t want to be troubled by those who should make me glad. I was sure that all of you would share my joy. I was very troubled when I wrote to you. My heart was sad. My eyes were full of tears. I didn’t want to make you sad. I wanted to let you know that I love you very deeply.

2 Corinthians 2:1–4 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again.

For if I cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful?

This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all.

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.


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