2 Corinthians 4:18

4:18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 10:7

10:7 You are looking at outward appearances. ¹  If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we.

2 Corinthians 7:8

7:8 For even if I made you sad ²  by my letter, ³  I do not regret having written it ⁴  (even though I did regret it, ⁵  for ⁶  I see that my letter made you sad, ⁷  though only for a short time).

2 Corinthians 12:6

12:6 For even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I would be telling ⁸  the truth, but I refrain from this so that no one may regard ⁹  me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me,

¹ tn The phrase is close to a recognized idiom for judging based on outward appearances (L&N 30.120). Some translators see a distinction, however, and translate 2 Cor 10:7a as “Look at what is in front of your eyes,” that is, the obvious facts of the case (so NRSV).

¹ tn Grk “if I grieved you.”

² sn My letter. Paul is referring to the “severe” letter mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4.

³ tn Grk “I do not regret”; direct objects in Greek must often be supplied from the context. Here one could simply supply “it,” but since Paul is referring to the effects of his previous letter, clarity is improved if “having written it” is supplied.

⁴ tn Grk “I did regret”; the direct object “it” must be supplied from the context.

⁵ tc A few important mss (Ì^46c B D* it sa) lack γάρ (gar, “for”), while the majority of witnesses have it (א C D¹ F G Ψ 0243 33 1739 1881 Ï sy bo). Even though Ì^46* omits γάρ, it has the same sense (viz., a subordinate clause) because it reads the participle βλέπων (blepwn, “seeing”; the Vulgate does the same). A decision is difficult because although the overwhelming external evidence is on the side of the conjunction, the lack of γάρ is a significantly harder reading, for the whole clause is something of an anacoluthon. Without the conjunction, the sentence reads more harshly. This would fit with Paul’s “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 435) that is found especially in 2 Corinthians and Galatians. However, the mss that omit the conjunction are prone to such tendencies at times. In this instance, the conjunction should probably stand.

⁶ tn Grk “my letter grieved you.”

¹ tn Or “speaking.”

² tn Or “may think of.”