2 Corinthians 1:12

Paul Defends His Changed Plans

1:12 For our reason for confidence ¹  is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives ²  and sincerity which are from God ³  – not by human wisdom ⁴  but by the grace of God – we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more ⁵  toward you.

2 Corinthians 4:2

4:2 But we have rejected ⁶  shameful hidden deeds, ⁷  not behaving ⁸  with deceptiveness ⁹  or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.

2 Corinthians 6:3-7

6:3 We do not give anyone ¹⁰  an occasion for taking an offense in anything, ¹¹  so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 6:4 But as God’s servants, ¹²  we have commended ourselves in every way, ¹³  with great endurance, in persecutions, ¹⁴  in difficulties, in distresses, 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, ¹⁵  in troubles, ¹⁶  in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6:6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit, ¹⁷  by genuine ¹⁸  love, 6:7 by truthful ¹⁹  teaching, ²⁰  by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left, ²¹ 

2 Corinthians 11:9

11:9 When ²²  I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. ²³  I ²⁴  kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

2 Corinthians 12:14-18

12:14 Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have ²⁵  to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 12:15 Now I will most gladly spend and be spent for your lives! ²⁶  If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 12:16 But be that as it may, I have not burdened you. Yet because I was a crafty person, I took you in by deceit! 12:17 I have not taken advantage of you through anyone I have sent to you, have I? ²⁷  12:18 I urged Titus to visit you ²⁸  and I sent our ²⁹  brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? ³⁰  Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way? ³¹ 

Numbers 16:15

16:15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect ³²  for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”

Numbers 16:1

The Rebellion of Korah

16:1 ³³ Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, who were Reubenites, ³⁴  took men ³⁵ 

Numbers 12:3-4

12:3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, ³⁶  more so than any man on the face of the earth.)

The Response of the Lord

12:4 The Lord spoke immediately to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: “The three of you come to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went.

Acts 20:33

20:33 I have desired ³⁷  no one’s silver or gold or clothing.

Romans 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ³⁸  of the naive.

Romans 16:1

Personal Greetings

16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant ³⁹  of the church in Cenchrea,

Romans 2:3-6

2:3 And do you think, ⁴⁰  whoever you are, when you judge ⁴¹  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ⁴²  that you will escape God’s judgment? 2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know ⁴³  that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 2:5 But because of your stubbornness ⁴⁴  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ⁴⁵  2:6 He ⁴⁶  will reward ⁴⁷  each one according to his works: ⁴⁸ 

Romans 2:10

2:10 but ⁴⁹  glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ⁵⁰  against those who practice such things.

Romans 3:7-9

3:7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances ⁵¹  his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? 3:8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? – as some who slander us allege that we say. ⁵²  (Their ⁵³  condemnation is deserved!)

The Condemnation of the World

3:9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,

[1:12]  ¹ tn Or “for boasting.”

[1:12]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “pure motives and sincerity of God.”

[1:12]  ⁴ tn Or “not by worldly wisdom.”

[1:12]  ⁵ tn Or “and especially.”

[4:2]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “the hidden things [deeds] of shame”; here αἰσχύνης (aiscunh") has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[4:2]  ⁸ tn Or “not conducting ourselves”; Grk “not walking” (a common NT idiom for conduct, way of life, or behavior).

[4:2]  ⁹ tn Or “craftiness.”

[6:3]  ¹⁰ tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[6:3]  ¹¹ tn Other interpretations of the first part of 2 Cor 6:3 are possible. The phrase could also mean, “not putting an obstacle in the way of anyone” (L&N 22.14), or “giving no one in anything a cause to sin” (L&N 88.307).

[6:4]  ¹² tn Or “ministers.”

[6:4]  ¹³ tn Or “we have commended ourselves by all things.”

[6:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “in trouble and suffering.”

[6:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “rebellions” (uprisings in open defiance of civil authority).

[6:5]  ¹⁶ tn Usually κόποις (kopois) has been translated as “labors” or “hard work,” but see Matt 26:10 where it means “trouble”; “distress” (L&N 22.7). In this context with so many other terms denoting suffering and difficulty, such a meaning is preferable.

[6:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “by holiness of spirit.”

[6:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “sincere.”

[6:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “by the word of truth”; understanding ἀληθείας (alhqeias) as an attributive genitive (“truthful word”).

[6:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “speech.” In this context it is more likely that λόγος (logos) refers to Paul’s message (thus “teaching”) than to his speech in general.

[6:7]  ²¹ tn The phrase “for the right hand and for the left” possibly refers to a combination of an offensive weapon (a sword for the right hand) and a defensive weapon (a shield for the left).

[11:9]  ²² tn Grk “you, and when.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.

[11:9]  ²³ tn If the participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") is taken as temporal rather than adjectival, the translation would be, “for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, fully supplied my needs” (similar to NASB).

[11:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “needs, and I kept.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.

[12:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “children ought not,” but this might give the impression that children are not supposed to support sick or aging parents in need of help. That is not what Paul is saying. His point is that children should not have to pay their parent’s way.

[12:15]  ²⁶ tn Grk “souls.”

[12:17]  ²⁷ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer, indicated by the ‘tag’ question “have I?” at the end of the clause. The question is rhetorical.

[12:18]  ²⁸ tn The words “to visit you” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the modern reader.

[12:18]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the.”

[12:18]  ³⁰ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer, indicated by the ‘tag’ question “did he?” at the end of the clause.

[12:18]  ³¹ tn Grk “[Did we not walk] in the same tracks?” This is an idiom that means to imitate someone else or to behave as they do. Paul’s point is that he and Titus have conducted themselves in the same way toward the Corinthians. If Titus did not take advantage of the Corinthians, then neither did Paul.

[16:15]  ³² tn The verb means “to turn toward”; it is a figurative expression that means “to pay attention to” or “to have regard for.” So this is a prayer against Dathan and Abiram.

[16:1]  ³³ sn There are three main movements in the story of ch. 16. The first is the rebellion itself (vv. 1-19). The second is the judgment (vv. 20-35). Third is the atonement for the rebels (vv. 36-50). The whole chapter is a marvelous account of a massive rebellion against the leaders that concludes with reconciliation. For further study see G. Hort, “The Death of Qorah,” ABR 7 (1959): 2-26; and J. Liver, “Korah, Dathan and Abiram,” Studies in the Bible (ScrHier 8), 189-217.

[16:1]  ³⁴ tc The MT reading is plural (“the sons of Reuben”); the Smr and LXX have the singular (“the son of Reuben”).

[16:1]  ³⁵ tn In the Hebrew text there is no object for the verb “took.” The translation presented above supplies the word “men.” However, it is possible that the MT has suffered damage here. The LXX has “and he spoke.” The Syriac and Targum have “and he was divided.” The editor of BHS suggests that perhaps the MT should be emended to “and he arose.”

[12:3]  ³⁶ tc The spelling of the word is a Kethib-Qere reading with only a slight difference between the two.

[20:33]  ³⁷ tn Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.

[16:18]  ³⁸ tn Grk “hearts.”

[16:1]  ³⁹ tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.

[2:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.

[2:3]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”

[2:3]  ⁴² tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.

[2:4]  ⁴³ tn Grk “being unaware.”

[2:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[2:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.

[2:6]  ⁴⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.

[2:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “but even,” to emphasize the contrast. The second word has been omitted since it is somewhat redundant in English idiom.

[2:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “based on truth.”

[3:7]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “abounded unto.”

[3:8]  ⁵² tn Grk “(as we are slandered and some affirm that we say…).”

[3:8]  ⁵³ tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new sentence in the translation.