2 Corinthians 2:16
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?
Studiennotiz
Study Note
Paul's rhetorical question 'and who is sufficient for these things?' (tis hikanos pros tauta) is provoked by his preceding description of apostolic ministry as 'the aroma of Christ' — simultaneously a fragrance of life to those being saved and a fragrance of death to those who are perishing. The olfactory metaphor may draw on Roman triumphal processions where the incense burned before the procession was experienced differently by victors and condemned prisoners — the same smell, two entirely opposite associations. The question of 'sufficiency' (hikanos) anticipates Paul's answer in 3:5–6: sufficiency comes not from natural competence but from God who makes us able ministers of the new covenant. The verse encapsulates the double-edged character of the gospel's effect that Jesus describes in Matthew 10:34–35: 'I came not to bring peace but a sword.'
Andere Übersetzungen
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?
to the one, indeed, a fragrance of death to death, and to the other, a fragrance of life to life; and for these things who is sufficient?
To the one it is a perfume of death to death; to the other a perfume of life to life. And who is enough for such things?
Querverweise
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