2nd Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 2 Holy Bible
For if I make you sorry, who then is he that maketh me glad but he that is made sorry by me?
read chapter 2 in ASV
For if I give you sorrow, who then will make me glad, but he who is made sad by me?
read chapter 2 in BBE
For if *I* grieve you, who also [is] it that gladdens me, if not he that is grieved through me?
read chapter 2 in DARBY
For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
read chapter 2 in KJV
read chapter 2 in WBT
For if I make you sorry, then who will make me glad but he who is made sorry by me?
read chapter 2 in WEB
for if I make you sorry, then who is he who is making me glad, except he who is made sorry by me?
read chapter 2 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 2. - For if I make you sorry. The verse may be rendered. "For if I pain you, who then is it that gladdens me except he who is being pained by me?" The "I" being expressed in the original, is emphatic, and the verse has none of the strange selfish meaning which has been assigned to it, namely, that St. Paul thought "the grief which he had caused to be amply compensated for by the pleasure he received from that grief." It has the much simpler meaning that he was unwilling to pain those who gladdened him, and therefore would not pay them a visit which could only be painful on both sides, when the normal relation between them should be one of joy on both sides, as he has already said (2 Corinthians 1:24). The singular, "he who is being pained by me," does not refer to the offender, but to the Corinthians collectively. Who is he then, etc.? The "then" in the original is classically and elegantly expressed by καὶ, and (comp. James 2:4).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) Who is he then that maketh me glad?--The force of the "for," with which the verse opens, lies below the surface. He had wished to avoid a visit that would cause sorrow to himself and others, and events had shown that he was right. But it might be said, perhaps had been said, that he didn't seem to care about giving pain when he wrote, as, e.g., in 1Corinthians 4:18; 1Corinthians 5:2-7; 1Corinthians 6:5-8. "Yes," is his answer; "but then the pain which I inflict" (the pronoun is emphatic) "gives to him who suffers it the power of giving me joy, and so works out an ample compensation;" a thought to which he returns in 2Corinthians 7:8. The abruptness of the question and the use of the singular number shows that he has the one great offender, the incestuous adulterer of 1Corinthians 5:1, before his mind's eye. He sees him, as it were, and can point to him as showing how well the course he had taken had answered.
