Discovery Box2 Corinthians 2:15-17 
Context2:15 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.”
