2 Corinthians 2:16 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

¹⁶ To lost people [we become] a smell of death [i.e., we bring condemnation to people who reject our message]; to saved people [we become] a fragrance of life [i.e., we bring salvation to people who accept our message]. And who is adequate to [accomplish] such tasks?

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

¹⁶ to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹⁶ To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?]

American Standard Version (1901)

¹⁶ to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Common English Bible

¹⁶ We smell like a contagious dead person to those who are dying, but we smell like the fountain of life to those who are being saved. Who is qualified for this kind of ministry?

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹⁶ To the one, certainly, the fragrance is of death unto death. But to the other, the fragrance is of life unto life. And concerning these things, who is so suitable?

2 Corinthians 2:16 Cross References

Luke 2:34

Then Simeon [asked God to] bless them and said to Jesus’ mother Mary, “Look, many Israelites will be caused to fall [i.e., into spiritual ruin] or rise [i.e., to spiritual renewal] because of Him. And [He will be] a ‘sign’ [for people] to speak against,

John 9:39

And Jesus said, “I came to this world to judge [it], so that people who can not see [spiritually] will [be able to] see; and those who [think they can] see [spiritually] will become blind.”

1 Corinthians 15:10

But I am whatever I am because of God’s unearned favor, and the favor He showed me was not for nothing [i.e., Paul made the most of his conversion by being extra diligent in his service to God]. But I worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not I, but God’s favor on me [that accomplished it].

2 Corinthians 12:11

I have become foolish [i.e., by my boasting], but you made me do it [i.e., in order to vindicate myself] For I should have been commended by you [i.e., for my effective ministry there in Corinth], because I was not inferior in any way to those “super apostles” [See 11:5], even though I am nothing.