10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you 7 personally 8 by the meekness and gentleness 9 of Christ (I who am meek 10 when present among 11 you, but am full of courage 12 toward you when away!) –
1 tn Or “of unbelievers.”
2 tn Grk “the gospel of the glory”; δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
3 tn Or “so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ would not be evident to them” (L&N 28.37).
4 sn An allusion to Gen 1:3; see also Isa 9:2.
5 tn Grk “the light of the knowledge of the glory”; δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
6 tc ‡ Most witnesses, including several early and important ones (Ì46 א C H Ψ 0209 1739c Ï sy), read ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ihsou Cristou, “Jesus Christ”), while other important witnesses, especially of the Western text (D F G 0243 630 1739* 1881 lat Ambst), have Χριστοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ. The reading with just Χριστοῦ is found in A B 33 {sa} Tert {Or Ath Chr}. Even though the witnesses for the shorter reading are not numerous, they are weighty. And in light of the natural scribal proclivity to fill out the text, particularly with reference to divine names, as well as the discrepancy among the witnesses as to the order of the names, the simple reading Χριστοῦ seems to be the best candidate for authenticity. NA27 reads ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ with ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
7 tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.
8 tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.
9 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.”
10 tn Or “who lack confidence.”
11 tn Or “when face to face with.”
12 tn Or “but bold.”