2 Corinthians 11:1-3

Paul and His Opponents

11:1 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, ¹  to present you as a pure ²  virgin to Christ. 11:3 But I am afraid that ³  just as the serpent ⁴  deceived Eve by his treachery, ⁵  your minds may be led astray ⁶  from a sincere and pure ⁷  devotion to Christ.

¹ tn That is, to Christ.

² tn Or “chaste.”

³ tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”

⁴ tn Or “the snake.”

⁵ tn Or “craftiness.”

⁶ tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”

⁷ tc Although most mss (א² H Ψ 0121 0243 1739 1881 Ï) lack “and pure” (καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, kai th" Jagnothto"; Grk “and purity”) several important and early witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B D^[2] F G 33 81 104 pc ar r co) retain these words. Their presence in such mss across such a wide geographical distribution argues for their authenticity. The omission from the majority of mss can be explained by haplography, since the -τητος ending of ἁγνότητος is identical to the ending of ἁπλότητος (Japlothto", “sincerity”) three words back (ἁπλότητος καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος); further, since the meanings of “sincerity” and “purity” are similar they might seem redundant. A copyist would scarcely notice the omission because Paul’s statement still makes sense without “and from purity.”