2 Corinthians 3:4

3:4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:1

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

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

2 Corinthians 1:12

Paul Defends His Changed Plans

1:12 For our reason for confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives and sincerity which are from God – not by human wisdom 10  but by the grace of God – we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more 11  toward you.

2 Corinthians 7:4

A Letter That Caused Sadness

7:4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride 12  on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement; 13  I am overflowing with joy in the midst of 14  all our suffering.

2 Corinthians 13:3-4

13:3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He 15  is not weak toward you but is powerful among you. 13:4 For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God’s power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God’s power toward you.

2 Corinthians 2:8

2:8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 16 

2 Corinthians 7:15

7:15 And his affection for you is much greater 17  when he remembers the obedience of you all, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling.

2 Corinthians 9:8

9:8 And God is able to make all grace overflow 18  to you so that because you have enough 19  of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow 20  in every good work.

2 Corinthians 10:2

10:2 now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving 21  according to human standards. 22 

2 Corinthians 1:5

1:5 For just as the sufferings 23  of Christ 24  overflow 25  toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you. 26 

2 Corinthians 1:18

1:18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”

2 Corinthians 1:16

1:16 and through your help to go on into Macedonia and then from Macedonia to come back 27  to you and be helped on our way into Judea by you.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Self-Purification

7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves 28  from everything that could defile the body 29  and the spirit, and thus accomplish 30  holiness out of reverence for God. 31 

2 Corinthians 1:11

1:11 as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God 32  on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.

2 Corinthians 7:7

7:7 We were encouraged 33  not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement 34  you gave 35  him, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, 36  your deep concern 37  for me, so that I rejoiced more than ever.

2 Corinthians 11:20

11:20 For you put up with 38  it if someone makes slaves of you, if someone exploits you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone behaves arrogantly 39  toward you, if someone strikes you in the face.

2 Corinthians 13:11

Final Exhortations and Greetings

13:11 Finally, brothers and sisters, 40  rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.


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

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

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.”

tn Or “who lack confidence.”

tn Or “when face to face with.”

tn Or “but bold.”

tn Or “for boasting.”

tc Two viable variants exist at this place in the text: ἁγιότητι (Jagiothti, “holiness”) vs. ἁπλότητι (Japlothti, “pure motives”). A confusion of letters could well have produced the variant (TCGNT 507): In uncial script the words would have been written agiothti and aplothti. This, however, does not explain which reading created the other. Overall ἁπλότητι, though largely a Western-Byzantine reading (א2 D F G Ï lat sy), is better suited to the context; it is also a Pauline word while ἁγιότης (Jagioth") is not. It also best explains the rise of the other variants, πραότητι (praothti, “gentleness”) and {σπλάγχνοις} (splancnoi", “compassion”). On the other hand, the external evidence in favor of ἁγιότητι is extremely strong (Ì46 א* A B C K P Ψ 0121 0243 33 81 1739 1881 al co). This diversity of mss provides excellent evidence for authenticity, but because of the internal evidence listed above, ἁπλότητι is to be preferred, albeit only slightly.

tn Grk “pure motives and sincerity of God.”

tn Or “not by worldly wisdom.”

tn Or “and especially.”

tn Grk “great is my boasting.”

tn Or “comfort.”

tn Grk “I am overflowing with joy in all our suffering”; the words “in the midst of” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to clarify that Paul is not rejoicing in the suffering itself, but in his relationship with the Corinthians in the midst of all his suffering.

tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”

tn Or “is all the more.”

tn Or “abound.”

tn Or “so that by having enough.” The Greek participle can be translated as a participle of cause (“because you have enough”) or means (“by having enough”).

tn Or “abound.”

tn Grk “consider us as walking.”

tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

tn This Greek word translated “sufferings” here (πάθημα, paqhma) is a different one than the one Paul uses for his own afflictions/persecutions (θλῖψις, qliyi") in v. 4.

tn I.e., suffering incurred by Paul as a consequence of his relationship to Christ. The genitive could be considered to have a causative nuance here.

tn Traditionally, “abound” (here and throughout this section).

tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the statements in the following verse.

tn Grk “come again.”

tn Or “purify ourselves.”

tn Grk “from every defilement of the flesh.”

tn Grk “accomplishing.” The participle has been translated as a finite verb due to considerations of contemporary English style, and “thus” has been supplied to indicate that it represents a result of the previous cleansing.

tn Grk “in the fear of God.”

tn Grk “so that thanks may be given by many.” The words “to God” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The passive construction has been converted to an active one for clarity, in keeping with contemporary English style.

tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “We were encouraged.”

tn Or “comfort,” “consolation.”

tn Grk “by the encouragement with which he was encouraged by you.” The passive construction was translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the repeated word “encouraged” was replaced in the translation by “gave” to avoid redundancy in the translation.

tn Or “your grieving,” “your deep sorrow.”

tn Or “your zeal.”

tn Or “you tolerate.”

tn See L&N 88.212.

tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:8.