What Does 2 Corinthians 2:2 Mean in the King James?
For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The same people who carry Paul’s sorrow are also the source of his gladness.
THE MEANING
The people whose sorrow weighs on you are also bound up with what brings you gladness. Grief and joy can live inside the same relationship; neither makes the other unreal.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that when your words grieve someone you love, the relationship can no longer be a source of gladness.
THE ROOT
λυπῶ
lypō
GROWS FROM
λυπ-
lyp-
Grief, distress, or sorrow.
“make you sorry” in this verse is lypō. The Greek verb means to grieve or cause sorrow, giving “sorry” the depth of grief rather than only apology or regret. Paul names the same people as both those he grieves and those who gladden him.
ALSO GROWS
lypē: Grief or sorrow.
λύπη
This noun shares the grief-root carried by Paul’s verb.
lypoumenos: Being grieved or made sorrowful.
λυπούμενος
This form appears later in the verse: the people who make Paul glad are themselves grieved by him.
εὐφραίνων
euphrainōn
GROWS FROM
εὐ + φρήν (eu + phrēn)
Well or good + mind, inward thought.
“maketh me glad” in this verse is euphrainōn. The verb carries the sense of bringing someone into gladness, built from “well” and “mind.” Paul’s joy is tied to the very people whose sorrow reaches him.
ALSO GROWS
phrēn: Mind, understanding, or inward thought.
φρήν
This root element places gladness in an inward response, not simply an outward show.
euphrosynē: Gladness or cheer.
εὐφροσύνη
This related word makes explicit the gladness held in the verb Paul uses.
THE PATTERN
Sorrow and gladness can belong to the same story, with grief becoming a passage into joy.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.THE THREAD
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.The Greek verb for being made sorrowful returns here alongside Paul’s “I rejoice.” His gladness is not in their pain; it is joined to what their sorrow opens.
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