1 So I made up my mind not to come to you again to make you sad. 2 For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up? Only the very persons I had made sad. 3 That is why I wrote that letter to you—I did not want to come to you and be made sad by the very people who should make me glad. For I am convinced that when I am happy, then all of you are happy too. 4 I wrote you with a greatly troubled and distressed heart and with many tears; my purpose was not to make you sad, but to make you realize how much I love you all.
Forgiveness for the Offender
5 Now, if anyone has made somebody sad, he has not done it to me but to all of you—in part, at least. (I say this because I do not want to be too hard on him.) 6 It is enough that this person has been punished in this way by most of you. 7 Now, however, you should forgive him and encourage him, in order to keep him from becoming so sad as to give up completely. 8 And so I beg you to let him know that you really do love him. 9 I wrote you that letter because I wanted to find out how well you had stood the test and whether you are always ready to obey my instructions. 10 When you forgive people for what they have done, I forgive them too. For when I forgive—if, indeed, I need to forgive anything—I do it in Christ's presence because of you, 11 in order to keep Satan from getting the upper hand over us; for we know what his plans are.
Paul's Anxiety in Troas
12 When I arrived in Troas to preach the Good News about Christ, I found that the Lord had opened the way for the work there. 13 But I was deeply worried, because I could not find our brother Titus. So I said good-bye to the people there and went on to Macedonia.
Victory through Christ
14 But thanks be to God! For in union with Christ we are always led by God as prisoners in Christ's victory procession. God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance. 15 For we are like a sweet-smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost. 16 For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life. Who, then, is capable for such a task? 17 We are not like so many others, who handle God's message as if it were cheap merchandise; but because God has sent us, we speak with sincerity in his presence, as servants of Christ.
Omulunde e lidilulula na tambulwe nohole
1 Ndelenee ame nda li nda tokola shili, inandi hala okuuya kunye ndi mu etele vali oluhodi. 2 Osheshi ame ngee ohandi mu nyikifa oluhodi, olyelye hano ta hafifa nge vali, ngee haye winya ngeno nde mu nyikifa oluhodi? 3 Ndele osho tuu eshi nde shi mu shangela, opo mokuuya kunye muha nyikifwe oluhodi kwaava va li ve nokuhafifa nge, osheshi onde mu lineekela nye amushe, nokutya ehafo lange oleni yo amushe. 4 Osheshi moudjuu unene nomouyehame womomutima onde mu shangela nomahodi mahapu, haku mu nyikifa oluhodi, ndelenee onda hala mu shiive ohole ei inene ndi i na yoku mu hola.
5 Ndele ngeenge umwe a eta oluhodi, haame a nyikifa oluhodi, ndelenee onye tuu amushe, ndiha popye dihapu unene. 6 Ehandukilo olo e li mona kuvahapu, ola wana; 7 osho hano kombinga ikwao mu noku mu dimina po vali noku mu hekeleka, opo aha ningine moluhodi unene. 8 Onghee ohandi mu kumaida mu hovele oku mu hola; 9 osheshi onde shi mu shangela ndi shiive nhumbi mu li mokuyelekwa kweni, ngeenge omu neduliko moinima aishe. 10 Ndelenee ou tamu mu dimine po sha, naame yo ohandi dimi po; osheshi osho nde shi dima po, ngeenge onda li ndi na sha okudima po, onde shi dima po omolweni koshipala shaKristus, 11 opo tuha findwe kuSatana, osheshi omakoto aye otu a shii.
Evaengeli tali tandavele
12 Ndelenee ame eshi nde uya kuTroas okuudifa evaengeli laKristus, onda yeululilwa oshivelo mOmwene, 13 ndelenee inandi mona etulumuko momhepo yange, osheshi inandi mona mo omumwatate Titus. Onghee nde va lekela, ndele nda ya kuMakedonia.
14 Ndelenee Kalunga na pandulwe, ou te tu wilike alushe molweendo lwefindano muKristus, ou te tu hololifa apeshe edimba liwa lokushiiva kwaye! 15 Osheshi ofye edimba liwa laKristus kuKalunga mokati kaava tava xupifwa nomwaava tava ka kana; 16 kwaava edimba lefyo okefyo, ndele kwaavenya edimba lomwenyo olokuyandja omwenyo. Ndele olyelye ou a wanena eshi? 17 Inatu fa venya vahapu hava shingifa eendjovo daKalunga, ndelenee onomadiladilo a yela, ngaashi ava hava longifwa kuKalunga, omoipafi yaKalunga ohatu popi muKristus.
