World English Bible · Under Rome
2 Corinthians 2
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But I determined this for myself, that I would not come to you again in sorrow. For if I make you grieve, then who will make me glad but he who is made to grieve by me? And I wrote this very thing to you, so that when I came, I wouldn't have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be shared by all of you. For out of much affliction and anguish of I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be made to grieve, but that you might know the love that I have so abundantly for you. But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in part (that I not press too heavily) to you all. This punishment which was inflicted by the many is sufficient for such a one; so that, on the contrary, you should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his excessive sorrow. Therefore I beg you to confirm your love toward him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things. Now I also forgive whomever you forgive anything. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the of Christ, that no advantage may be gained over us by , for we are not ignorant of his schemes. Now when I came to for the of Christ, and when a door was opened to me in , I had no relief for , because I didn't find my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went out into . Now thanks be to who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place. For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to in those who are and in those who : to the one a stench from to , to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as so many, peddling the word of . But as of sincerity, but as of , in the sight of , we speak in Christ.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.