2 Corinthians 7:16

7:16 I rejoice because in everything I am fully confident in you.

2 Corinthians 5:6

5:6 Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth ¹  we are absent from the Lord –

2 Corinthians 5:8

5:8 Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away ²  from the body and at home with the Lord.

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 ³  according to human standards. ⁴ 

2 Corinthians 10:1

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you ⁵  personally ⁶  by the meekness and gentleness ⁷  of Christ (I who am meek ⁸  when present among ⁹  you, but am full of courage ¹⁰  toward you when away!) –

¹ tn Grk “we know that being at home in the body”; an idiom for being alive (L&N 23.91).

¹ tn Or “be absent.”

¹ tn Grk “consider us as walking.”

² tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

¹ tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.

² tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.

³ 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.”

⁴ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

⁵ tn Or “when face to face with.”

⁶ tn Or “but bold.”