2 Corinthians 1:23--2:3

Why Paul Postponed His Visit

1:23 Now I appeal to God as my witness, ¹  that to spare ²  you I did not come again to Corinth. ³  1:24 I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because by faith you stand firm. ⁴  2:1 So ⁵  I made up my own mind ⁶  not to pay you another painful visit. ⁷  2:2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad ⁸  but the one I caused to be sad? 2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, ⁹  so that when I came ¹⁰  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 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 ¹¹  according to human standards. ¹² 

2 Corinthians 10:6

10:6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, ¹³  whenever your obedience is complete.

2 Corinthians 10:8-9

10:8 For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us ¹⁴  for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so. ¹⁵  10:9 I do not want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters,

2 Corinthians 13:2

13:2 I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone, ¹⁶ 

2 Corinthians 13:10

13:10 Because of this I am writing these things while absent, so that when I arrive ¹⁷  I may not have to deal harshly with you ¹⁸  by using my authority – the Lord gave it to me for building up, not for tearing down!

2 Corinthians 13:1

Paul’s Third Visit to Corinth

13:1 This is the third time I am coming to visit ¹⁹  you. By the testimony ²⁰  of two or three witnesses every matter will be established. ²¹ 

Colossians 4:18

4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand. ²²  Remember my chains. ²³  Grace be with you. ²⁴ 

Colossians 1:3-5

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ²⁵  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since ²⁶  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ²⁷  from the hope laid up ²⁸  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ²⁹ 

[1:23]  ¹ tn Grk “I call upon God as witness against my soul.” Normally this implies an appeal for help (L&N 33.176).

[1:23]  ² tn Here φειδόμενος (feidomeno") has been translated as a telic participle.

[1:23]  ³ sn Paul had promised to come again to visit (see 2 Cor 1:15, 24) but explains here why he had changed his plans.

[1:24]  ⁴ tn Or “because you stand firm in the faith.”

[2:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “I decided this for myself.”

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”

[2:2]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[2:3]  ¹⁰ sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.

[10:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “consider us as walking.”

[10:2]  ¹² tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

[10:6]  ¹³ tn Or “punish all disobedience.”

[10:8]  ¹⁴ tn The word “us” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Indirect objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[10:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “I will not be put to shame,” “I will not be ashamed.” The words “of doing so” are supplied to clarify for the reader that Paul will not be ashamed of boasting somewhat more about the authority the Lord gave him (beginning of v. 8).

[13:2]  ¹⁶ tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[13:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “when I am present,” but in the context of Paul’s third (upcoming) visit to Corinth, this is better translated as “when I arrive.”

[13:10]  ¹⁸ tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[13:1]  ¹⁹ tn The word “visit” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[13:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “By the mouth.”

[13:1]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Deut 19:15 (also quoted in Matt 18:16; 1 Tim 5:19).

[4:18]  ²² tn Grk “the greeting by my hand, of Paul.”

[4:18]  ²³ tn Or “my imprisonment.”

[4:18]  ²⁴ tc Most witnesses, including a few important ones (א² D Ψ 075 0278 Ï lat sy), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). 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. Further, the external evidence for the omission is quite compelling (א* A B C F G 048 6 33 81 1739* 1881 sa). The strongly preferred reading is therefore the omission of ἀμήν.

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:4]  ²⁶ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ²⁷ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ²⁹ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.