1:12 For our reason for confidence 3 is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives 4 and sincerity which are from God 5 – not by human wisdom 6 but by the grace of God – we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more 7 toward you.
10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you 15 personally 16 by the meekness and gentleness 17 of Christ (I who am meek 18 when present among 19 you, but am full of courage 20 toward you when away!) –
1 tn Or “our trials”; traditionally, “our affliction.” The term θλῖψις (qliyi") refers to trouble (including persecution) that involves direct suffering (L&N 22.2).
2 tn Or “any trials”; traditionally, “any affliction.”
3 tn Or “for boasting.”
4 tc Two viable variants exist at this place in the text: ἁγιότητι (Jagiothti, “holiness”) vs. ἁπλότητι (Japlothti, “pure motives”). A confusion of letters could well have produced the variant (TCGNT 507): In uncial script the words would have been written agiothti and aplothti. This, however, does not explain which reading created the other. Overall ἁπλότητι, though largely a Western-Byzantine reading (א2 D F G Ï lat sy), is better suited to the context; it is also a Pauline word while ἁγιότης (Jagioth") is not. It also best explains the rise of the other variants, πραότητι (praothti, “gentleness”) and {σπλάγχνοις} (splancnoi", “compassion”). On the other hand, the external evidence in favor of ἁγιότητι is extremely strong (Ì46 א* A B C K P Ψ 0121 0243 33 81 1739 1881 al co). This diversity of
5 tn Grk “pure motives and sincerity of God.”
6 tn Or “not by worldly wisdom.”
7 tn Or “and especially.”
5 tn Or “of unbelievers.”
6 tn Grk “the gospel of the glory”; δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
7 tn Or “so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ would not be evident to them” (L&N 28.37).
7 sn See the note in 5:1 on the phrase the tent we live in.
8 tn Or “we are burdened.”
9 tn Or “he has entrusted to us.”
11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.
14 tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.
15 tn Or “leniency and clemency.” D. Walker, “Paul’s Offer of Leniency of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:1): Populist Ideology and Rhetoric in a Pauline Letter Fragment (2 Cor 10:1-13:10)” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1998), argues for this alternative translation for three main reasons: (1) When the two Greek nouns πραΰτης and ἐπιείκεια (prauth" and ejpieikeia) are used together, 90% of the time the nuance is “leniency and clemency.” (2) “Leniency and clemency” has a military connotation, which is precisely what appears in the following verses. (3) 2 Cor 10-13 speaks of Paul’s sparing use of his authority, which points to the nuance of “leniency and clemency.”
16 tn Or “who lack confidence.”
17 tn Or “when face to face with.”
18 tn Or “but bold.”
15 tn Or “boast excessively.” The phrase εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα (ei" ta ametra) is an idiom; literally it means “into that which is not measured,” that is, a point on a scale that goes beyond what might be expected (L&N 78.27).
16 tn Or “in the labors.”
17 tn Grk “but we have the hope.”
18 tn Or “greatly enlarged.”
19 tn That is, Paul’s work might be greatly expanded within the area of activity assigned to him by God.