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 8:8

8:8 I am not saying this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love by comparison with the eagerness of others. ⁶ 

Ephesians 6:24

6:24 Grace be ⁷  with all of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. ⁸ 

Philippians 1:10

1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

[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.”

[8:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “by means of the eagerness of others.”

[6:24]  ⁷ tn Or “is.”

[6:24]  ⁸ tc Most witnesses (א² D Ψ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of the letter. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. The earliest and best witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B F G 0278 6 33 81 1175 1241 1739* 1881 sa) lack the particle, giving firm evidence that Ephesians did not originally conclude with ἀμήν.