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 6:3-11

6:3 We do not give anyone ⁶  an occasion for taking an offense in anything, ⁷  so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 6:4 But as God’s servants, ⁸  we have commended ourselves in every way, ⁹  with great endurance, in persecutions, ¹⁰  in difficulties, in distresses, 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, ¹¹  in troubles, ¹²  in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6:6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit, ¹³  by genuine ¹⁴  love, 6:7 by truthful ¹⁵  teaching, ¹⁶  by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left, ¹⁷  6:8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors, ¹⁸  and yet true; 6:9 as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet – see! – we continue to live; as those who are scourged ¹⁹  and yet not executed; 6:10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

6:11 We have spoken freely to you, ²⁰  Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide to you.

2 Corinthians 6:1

God’s Suffering Servants

6:1 Now because we are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ²¹ 

2 Corinthians 1:5-6

1:5 For just as the sufferings ²²  of Christ ²³  overflow ²⁴  toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you. ²⁵  1:6 But if we are afflicted, ²⁶  it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer.

2 Corinthians 2:1-10

2:1 So ²⁷  I made up my own mind ²⁸  not to pay you another painful visit. ²⁹  2:2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad ³⁰  but the one I caused to be sad? 2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, ³¹  so that when I came ³²  I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours. 2:4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you. ³³  2:5 But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate) ³⁴  he has saddened all of you as well. 2:6 This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, 2:7 so that now instead ³⁵  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ³⁶  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ³⁷  2:8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ³⁸  2:9 For this reason also I wrote you: ³⁹  to test you to see ⁴⁰  if you are obedient in everything. 2:10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him – for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ,

2 Corinthians 2:2

2:2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad ⁴¹  but the one I caused to be sad?

2 Corinthians 3:7-9

The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry

3:7 But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets ⁴²  – came with glory, so that the Israelites ⁴³  could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face ⁴⁴  (a glory ⁴⁵  which was made ineffective), ⁴⁶  3:8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be? ⁴⁷  3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, ⁴⁸  how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness ⁴⁹  excel ⁵⁰  in glory!

2 Corinthians 3:2

3:2 You yourselves are our letter, ⁵¹  written on our hearts, known and read by everyone,

2 Corinthians 3:10

3:10 For indeed, what had been glorious now ⁵²  has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it. ⁵³ 

[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.”

[6:3]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “ministers.”

[6:4]  ⁹ tn Or “we have commended ourselves by all things.”

[6:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in trouble and suffering.”

[6:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “rebellions” (uprisings in open defiance of civil authority).

[6:5]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “by holiness of spirit.”

[6:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or “sincere.”

[6:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “by the word of truth”; understanding ἀληθείας (alhqeias) as an attributive genitive (“truthful word”).

[6:7]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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).

[6:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “regarded as deceivers.”

[6:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “disciplined,” but in this context probably a reference to scourging prior to execution (yet the execution is not carried out).

[6:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “our mouth has been open to you,” an idiom for openness in communication.

[6:1]  ²¹ tn Or “receive the grace of God uselessly.”

[1:5]  ²² tn This Greek word translated “sufferings” here (πάθημα, paqhma) is a different one than the one Paul uses for his own afflictions/persecutions (θλῖψις, qliyi") in v. 4.

[1:5]  ²³ tn I.e., suffering incurred by Paul as a consequence of his relationship to Christ. The genitive could be considered to have a causative nuance here.

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Traditionally, “abound” (here and throughout this section).

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the statements in the following verse.

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “are troubled.”

[2:1]  ²⁷ tc Although usually δέ (de, “now”; found in א A C D¹ F G Ψ 0285 Ï lat) should take precedent over γάρ (gar) in textually disputed places in the corpus Paulinum, the credentials for γάρ here are not easily dismissed (Ì⁴⁶ B 0223 0243 33 1739 1881 al); here it is the preferred reading, albeit slightly.

[2:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “I decided this for myself.”

[2:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”

[2:2]  ³⁰ tn Or “to cheer me up.” L&N 25.131 translates this “For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up?”

[2:3]  ³¹ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[2:3]  ³² sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.

[2:4]  ³³ tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”

[2:5]  ³⁴ tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”

[2:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

[2:7]  ³⁶ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.

[2:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:8]  ³⁸ tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”

[2:9]  ³⁹ tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).

[2:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “to know the proof of you,” that is, to know if the Corinthians’ obedience to Paul as an apostle was genuine (L&N 72.7).

[2:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or “to cheer me up.” L&N 25.131 translates this “For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up?”

[3:7]  ⁴² tn Grk “on stones”; but since this is clearly an allusion to the tablets of the Decalogue (see 2 Cor 3:3) the word “tablets” was supplied in the translation to make the connection clear.

[3:7]  ⁴³ tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

[3:7]  ⁴⁴ sn The glory of his face. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Decalogue, the people were afraid to approach him because his face was so radiant (Exod 34:29-30).

[3:7]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “a glory” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to “glory” has been repeated from the previous clause for clarity.

[3:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “which was transitory.” Traditionally this phrase is translated as “which was fading away.” The verb καταργέω in the corpus Paulinum uniformly has the meaning “to render inoperative, ineffective”; the same nuance is appropriate here. The glory of Moses’ face was rendered ineffective by the veil Moses wore. For discussion of the meaning of this verb in this context, see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel (WUNT 81), 301-13. A similar translation has been adopted in the two other occurrences of the verb in this paragraph in vv. 11 and 13.

[3:8]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “how will not rather the ministry of the Spirit be with glory?”

[3:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.”

[3:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.”

[3:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Traditionally, “abound.”

[3:2]  ⁵¹ tn That is, “letter of recommendation.”

[3:10]  ⁵² tn Grk “in this case.”

[3:10]  ⁵³ tn The words “of what replaced it” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning.