Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 2:16
To the one we are an odor that brings death, to the other a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian believers, concluding his defense of apostolic ministry immediately after describing himself as Christ’s fragrance to God. He notes the moment his proclamation divides listeners into two opposing responses.
The words — οσμὴ (osmē) means a distinct odor or scent, while θανάτου (thanatou) and θάνατον (thanaton) both denote death. The text literally states that the apostolic message operates as a scent that produces death for one group and life for another.
The thread — This dual outcome of the gospel message appears in 2 Corinthians 3:5, which grounds ministerial competence in God alone. It runs parallel to John 9:39 and 1 Peter 2:7, where Christ’s presence simultaneously grants sight to the blind and confirms blindness to the seeing, or marks a stone as precious to believers and rejected to unbelievers.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to recognize that qualification for gospel ministry comes from God, not human ability. It demands an honest assessment of whether one’s response to the message yields spiritual life or confirms spiritual death.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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?
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- John 9:39 Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
- 1 Peter 2:7 To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Luke 2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
- Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- Acts 20:26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
- 2 Corinthians 12:11 I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.