2 Corinthians 2:15-17

2:15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing – 2:16 to the latter an odor ¹  from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? ²  2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, ³  but we are speaking in Christ before ⁴  God as persons of sincerity, ⁵  as persons sent from God.

---

¹ tn The same Greek word (ὀσμή, osmh) translated “odor” here (in relation to the stench of death) has been translated “fragrance” in 2:14 and in the next phrase of the present verse. The word itself can describe a smell or odor either agreeable or disagreeable depending on the context (L&N 79.45).

² sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.

³ tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kaphleuonte") refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed – “to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle…for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term.

⁴ tn Or “in the presence of.”

⁵ tn Or “persons of pure motives.”