2 Corinthians 11:3

11:3 But I am afraid that ¹  just as the serpent ²  deceived Eve by his treachery, ³  your minds may be led astray ⁴  from a sincere and pure ⁵  devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:11-13

11:11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! ⁶  11:12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals ⁷  in the things they boast about. 11:13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful ⁸  workers, disguising themselves ⁹  as apostles of Christ.

¹ tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”

² tn Or “the snake.”

³ tn Or “craftiness.”

⁴ tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”

⁵ 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.”

⁶ tn Grk “God knows!” The words “I do” are supplied for clarity. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹¹ tn Grk “an opportunity, so that they may be found just like us.”

¹⁶ tn Or “dishonest.”

¹⁷ tn Or “workers, masquerading.”