2 Corinthians 12:20

12:20 For I am afraid that somehow when I come I will not find you what I wish, and you will find me ¹  not what you wish. I am afraid that ²  somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition, ³  slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

2 Corinthians 2:7

2:7 so that now instead ⁴  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ⁵  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ⁶ 

2 Corinthians 9:4

9:4 For if any of the Macedonians should come with me and find that you are not ready to give, we would be humiliated ⁷  (not to mention you) by this confidence we had in you. ⁸ 

2 Corinthians 11:3

11:3 But I am afraid that ⁹  just as the serpent ¹⁰  deceived Eve by his treachery, ¹¹  your minds may be led astray ¹²  from a sincere and pure ¹³  devotion to Christ.

¹ tn Grk “and I will be found by you.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation.

² tn The words “I am afraid that” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are needed for clarity.

³ tn Or “intense anger, hostility.”

⁴ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

⁵ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.

⁶ tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁷ tn Or “be disgraced”; Grk “be put to shame.”

⁸ tn Grk “by this confidence”; the words “we had in you” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied as a necessary clarification for the English reader.

¹⁰ tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”

¹¹ tn Or “the snake.”

¹² tn Or “craftiness.”

¹³ tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”

¹⁴ 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.”