2 Corinthians 2:4

2:4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you. ¹ 

2 Corinthians 7:14

7:14 For if I have boasted to him about anything concerning you, I have not been embarrassed by you, ²  but just as everything we said to you was true, ³  so our boasting to Titus about you ⁴  has proved true as well.

2 Corinthians 9:2

9:2 because I know your eagerness to help. ⁵  I keep boasting to the Macedonians about this eagerness of yours, ⁶  that Achaia has been ready to give ⁷  since last year, and your zeal to participate ⁸  has stirred up most of them. ⁹ 

2 Corinthians 10:1

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you ¹⁰  personally ¹¹  by the meekness and gentleness ¹²  of Christ (I who am meek ¹³  when present among ¹⁴  you, but am full of courage ¹⁵  toward you when away!) –

2 Corinthians 11:23

11:23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times.

2 Corinthians 12:7

12:7 even because of the extraordinary character of the revelations. Therefore, ¹⁶  so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble ¹⁷  me – so that I would not become arrogant. ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”

² tn Grk “I have not been put to shame”; the words “by you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

³ tn Grk “just as we spoke everything to you in truth.”

⁴ tn The words “about you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

³ tn The words “to help” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

⁴ tn Grk “concerning which I keep boasting to the Macedonians about you.” A new sentence was started here and the translation was simplified by removing the relative clause and repeating the antecedent “this eagerness of yours.”

⁵ tn The words “to give” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

⁶ tn The words “to participate” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

⁷ sn Most of them is a reference to the Macedonians (cf. v. 4).

⁴ tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.

⁵ tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.

⁶ 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.”

⁷ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

⁸ tn Or “when face to face with.”

⁹ tn Or “but bold.”

⁵ tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁶ D Ψ 1881 Ï) lack διό (dio, “Therefore”), but the widespread distribution and quality of mss which include it (א A B F G 0243 33 81 1175 1739 pc) argues for its authenticity. Internally, its case is equally strong in that its inclusion is grammatically rough (διό is hardly necessary to convey purpose, especially since Paul uses ἵνα [{ina, “so that”] next).

⁶ tn Or “to harass.”

⁷ tn The phrase “so that I might not become arrogant” is repeated here because it occurs in the Greek text two times in the verse. Although redundant, it is repeated because of the emphatic nature of its affirmation.