5:11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, 9 we try to persuade 10 people, 11 but we are well known 12 to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.
1 tn Or “are troubled.”
2 tn Or “making plain.”
3 tn Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter (BDAG 229 s.v. διακονέω 1). Since the following phrase refers to the writing of the letter, and since the previous verse speaks of this “letter” being “written on our [Paul’s and his companions’] hearts” it is more probable that the phrase “cared for by us” refers to the delivery of the letter (in the person of Paul and his companions).
4 sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11.
3 tn Or “we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.”
4 tn Grk “from glory to glory.”
5 tn Grk “just as from.”
6 tn Grk “from the Lord, the Spirit”; the genitive πνεύματος (pneumato") has been translated as a genitive of apposition.
4 tn Or “because we know what it means to fear the Lord.”
5 tn The present tense of πείθομεν (peiqomen) has been translated as a conative present.
6 tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is generic here since clearly both men and women are in view (Paul did not attempt to win only men to the gospel he preached).
7 tn Or “clearly evident.” BDAG 1048 s.v. φανερόω 2.b.β has “θεῷ πεφανερώμεθα we are well known to God 2 Cor 5:11a, cp. 11b; 11:6 v.l.”
5 tn Grk “who.”
6 tn Grk “gospel, and not only this, but.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.
7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the brother mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn That is, the offering or collection being taken to assist impoverished Christians.
9 tn The words “to help” are not in the Greek text but are implied (see L&N 25.68).
7 tn Or “proof,” or perhaps “testing” (NRSV).
8 tn Or “ministry.”
9 tn Or “your partnership”; Grk “your fellowship.”
8 tn The word “us” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Indirect objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the modern English reader.
9 tn Grk “I will not be put to shame,” “I will not be ashamed.” The words “of doing so” are supplied to clarify for the reader that Paul will not be ashamed of boasting somewhat more about the authority the Lord gave him (beginning of v. 8).