The Meaning of 2 Corinthians 2:2 Explained

2 Corinthians 2:2

KJV: For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?

YLT: for if I make you sorry, then who is he who is making me glad, except he who is made sorry by me?

Darby: For if I grieve you, who also is it that gladdens me, if not he that is grieved through me?

ASV: For if I make you sorry, who then is he that maketh me glad but he that is made sorry by me?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  if  I  make  you  sorry,  who  is he  then  that maketh  me  glad,  but  the same which is made sorry  by  me? 

What does 2 Corinthians 2:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Who could make Paul glad if he came to them and made them sorrowful? No one could. The Corinthians certainly could not since he would have made them sorrowful. Paul"s point was that if he came to them and made them sorrowful again he himself would be sorrowful since they were his source of joy. Consequently he decided to postpone his visit. Evidently if Paul had come to them as originally planned he would have had to rebuke or discipline them for some situation that existed in the church. Instead of doing this and producing sorrow he decided to wait and give them an opportunity to deal with the problem themselves.

Context Summary

2 Corinthians 2:1-11 - Tender-Hearted And Forgiving
In these opening words Paul evidently refers to the sin mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. His judgment had been strong and stringent, the Corinthian church had acted upon it, and the offender had suffered severely in consequence. But the result had been more than satisfactory. He had repented with great brokenness of spirit. Indeed, it seemed as if he would be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow, 2 Corinthians 2:7.
The Apostle desires the Corinthians to understand that he also had shed many tears over the case, 2 Corinthians 2:4. His was a very affectionate and tender disposition, which shrank from inflicting pain, and yet was resolute at all costs to maintain truth. We get a sidelight here as to the heart of God. May we not believe that whenever He chastens us, it is with profound pity? Whom He loves He chastens; and whom He receives, He scourges. But when there is full and frank repentance, there should be forgiveness. The penitent offender was to be restored to church fellowship and received with brotherly welcome. The Savior Himself speaks through forgiveness. It is His love that moves, His voice that declares; while an unforgiving spirit sets an open door to the entrance of Satan. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Corinthians 2

1  Having shown the reason why he came not to them,
6  he requires them to forgive and to comfort that excommunicated person,
10  even as he himself upon true repentance had forgiven him;
12  declaring why he departed from Troas to Macedonia,
14  and the happy success which God gave to his preaching in all places

Greek Commentary for 2 Corinthians 2:2

Who then? [και τισ]
For this use of και — kai see note on Mark 10:26; John 9:36. The και — kai accepts the condition (first class ειλυπω — ei̇̇lupō) and shows the paradox that follows. Λυπεω — Lupeō is old word from λυπη — lupē (sorrow) in causative sense, to make sorry. [source]
Maketh glad [ευπραινων]
Present active participle of old word from ευ — eu well, and πρην — phrēn mind, to make joyful, causative idea like λυπεω — lupeō f0). [source]
If I make, etc. []
I is emphatic, implying that there are enough others who caused them trouble. [source]
Who then is he, etc. []
The thought underlying the passage, 1:24-2:3, is that the apostle's own joy is bound up with the spiritual prosperity of the Church. Compare Philemon 4:1. As the helper of their joy he would receive joy through their faith and obedience. So long as their moral condition compelled him to come, bringing rebuke and pain, they could not be a source of joy to him. If I must needs make you sorry with merited rebuke, who can give me joy save you who are thus made sorry? [source]

What do the individual words in 2 Corinthians 2:2 mean?

If for I grieve you again who - is gladdening me not the [one] being grieved by me
εἰ γὰρ ἐγὼ λυπῶ ὑμᾶς καὶ τίς εὐφραίνων με μὴ λυπούμενος ἐξ ἐμοῦ

λυπῶ  grieve 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: λυπέω  
Sense: to make sorrowful.
καὶ  again 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
εὐφραίνων  is  gladdening 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εὐφραίνω  
Sense: to gladden, make joyful.
με  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
  the  [one] 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
λυπούμενος  being  grieved 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λυπέω  
Sense: to make sorrowful.
ἐμοῦ  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.