1:23 Now I appeal to God as my witness, 1 that to spare 2 you I did not come again to Corinth. 3
1 tn Grk “I call upon God as witness against my soul.” Normally this implies an appeal for help (L&N 33.176).
2 tn Here φειδόμενος (feidomeno") has been translated as a telic participle.
3 sn Paul had promised to come again to visit (see 2 Cor 1:15, 24) but explains here why he had changed his plans.
4 tc Although usually δέ (de, “now”; found in א A C D1 F G Ψ 0285 Ï lat) should take precedent over γάρ (gar) in textually disputed places in the corpus Paulinum, the credentials for γάρ here are not easily dismissed (Ì46 B 0223 0243 33 1739 1881 al); here it is the preferred reading, albeit slightly.
5 tn Or “I decided this for myself.”
6 tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”