2 Corinthians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, ²  with all the saints who are in all Achaia. ³ 

2 Corinthians 1:12

Paul Defends His Changed Plans

1:12 For our reason for confidence ⁴  is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives ⁵  and sincerity which are from God ⁶  – not by human wisdom ⁷  but by the grace of God – we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more ⁸  toward you.

2 Corinthians 4:2

4:2 But we have rejected ⁹  shameful hidden deeds, ¹⁰  not behaving ¹¹  with deceptiveness ¹²  or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.

2 Corinthians 6:16

6:16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are ¹³  the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them ¹⁴  and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ¹⁵ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ² map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[1:1]  ³ tn Or “are throughout Achaia.”

[1:12]  ⁴ tn Or “for boasting.”

[1:12]  ⁵ 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.

[1:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “pure motives and sincerity of God.”

[1:12]  ⁷ tn Or “not by worldly wisdom.”

[1:12]  ⁸ tn Or “and especially.”

[4:2]  ⁷ tn L&N 13.156; the word can also mean “to assert opposition to,” thus here “we have denounced” (L&N 33.220).

[4:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “the hidden things [deeds] of shame”; here αἰσχύνης (aiscunh") has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[4:2]  ⁹ tn Or “not conducting ourselves”; Grk “not walking” (a common NT idiom for conduct, way of life, or behavior).

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “craftiness.”

[6:16]  ¹⁰ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (Ì⁴⁶ א² C D² F G Ψ 0209 Ï lat sy Tert), read ὑμεῖς…ἐστε (Jumei"…este, “you are”) instead of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν (Jhmei"…esmen, “we are”) here, but several other early and important mss (א* B D* L P 0243 6 33 81 326 365 1175 1739 1881 2464 co Cl Or) have ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν. The external evidence is somewhat in favor of the first person pronoun and verb; the internal evidence weighs in even stronger. In light of the parallel in 1 Cor 3:16, where Paul uses ἐστε (“you are the temple of God”), as well as the surrounding context here in which the second person verb or pronoun is used in vv. 14, 17, and 18, the second person reading seems obviously motivated. The first person reading can explain the rise of the other reading, but the reverse is not as easily done. Consequently, the first person reading of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν has all the credentials of authenticity.

[6:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “live among them,” “live with them.”

[6:16]  ¹² sn A quotation from Lev 26:12; also similar to Jer 32:38; Ezek 37:27.