2 Corinthians 1:3

Thanksgiving for God’s Comfort

1:3 Blessed is ¹  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

2 Corinthians 1:14

1:14 just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours ²  in the day of the Lord Jesus. ³ 

2 Corinthians 2:17

2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, ⁴  but we are speaking in Christ before ⁵  God as persons of sincerity, ⁶  as persons sent from God.

2 Corinthians 3:13

3:13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites ⁷  from staring ⁸  at the result ⁹  of the glory that was made ineffective. ¹⁰ 

2 Corinthians 4:7

An Eternal Weight of Glory

4:7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power ¹¹  belongs to God and does not come from us.

2 Corinthians 4:11

4:11 For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible ¹²  in our mortal body. ¹³ 

2 Corinthians 4:15

4:15 For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including ¹⁴  more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase ¹⁵  to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 5:1

Living by Faith, Not by Sight

5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, ¹⁶  is dismantled, ¹⁷  we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.

2 Corinthians 5:11

The Message of Reconciliation

5:11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, ¹⁸  we try to persuade ¹⁹  people, ²⁰  but we are well known ²¹  to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.

2 Corinthians 5:14

5:14 For the love of Christ ²²  controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ ²³  died for all; therefore all have died.

2 Corinthians 5:16

5:16 So then from now on we acknowledge ²⁴  no one from an outward human point of view. ²⁵  Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, ²⁶  now we do not know him in that way any longer.

2 Corinthians 8:9

8:9 For you know the grace ²⁷  of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.

2 Corinthians 10:10

10:10 because some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is weak ²⁸  and his speech is of no account.” ²⁹ 

2 Corinthians 10:13-14

10:13 But we will not boast beyond certain limits, ³⁰  but will confine our boasting ³¹  according to the limits of the work to which God has appointed us, ³²  that reaches even as far as you. 10:14 For we were not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach as far as you, because we were the first to reach as far as you with the gospel about Christ. ³³ 

2 Corinthians 11:31

11:31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying.

2 Corinthians 12:3

12:3 And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows)

2 Corinthians 13:3

13:3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He ³⁴  is not weak toward you but is powerful among you.

[1:3]  ¹ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos) and the author’s intention at this point in the epistle must both come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response. When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the general Pauline style of beginning with statements and moving to obligations argues for the indicative. Cf. also Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[1:14]  ² tn Grk “that we are your boast even as you are our boast.”

[1:14]  ³ tc ‡ On the wording “the Lord Jesus” (τοῦ κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ, tou kuriou Ihsou) there is some variation in the extant witnesses: ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “our”) is found after κυρίου in several significant witnesses (א B F G P 0121 0243 6 33 81 1739 1881 2464 al lat co); the pronoun is lacking from Ì^46vid A C D Ψ Ï. Although in Paul “our Lord Jesus Christ” is a common expression, “our Lord Jesus” is relatively infrequent (cf., e.g., Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 1:14; 1 Thess 2:19; 3:11, 13; 2 Thess 1:8, 12). “The Lord Jesus” occurs about as often as “our Lord Jesus” (cf. 1 Cor 11:23; 16:23; 2 Cor 4:14; 11:31; Eph 1:15; 1 Thess 4:2; 2 Thess 1:7; Phlm 5). Thus, on balance, since scribes would tend to expand on the text, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ places the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[2:17]  ³ tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kaphleuonte") refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed – “to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle…for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term.

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Or “in the presence of.”

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Or “persons of pure motives.”

[3:13]  ⁴ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.”

[3:13]  ⁵ tn Or “from gazing intently.”

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Or “end.” The word τέλος (telos) can mean both “a point of time marking the end of a duration, end, termination, cessation” and “the goal toward which a movement is being directed, end, goal, outcome” (see BDAG 998-999 s.v.). The translation accepts the interpretation that Moses covered the glory of his face with the veil to prevent Israel from being judged by the glory of God (see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel [WUNT 81], 347-62); in this case the latter meaning for τέλος is more appropriate.

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Or “was fading away”; Grk “on the result of what was made ineffective.” The referent (glory) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

[4:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “the surpassingness of the power”; δυνάμεως (dunamew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (“extraordinary power”).

[4:11]  ⁶ tn Or “may also be revealed.”

[4:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “mortal flesh.”

[4:15]  ⁷ tn Or “that is abounding to.”

[4:15]  ⁸ tn Or “to abound.”

[5:1]  ⁸ sn The expression the tent we live in refers to “our earthly house, our body.” Paul uses the metaphor of the physical body as a house or tent, the residence of the immaterial part of a person.

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Or “destroyed.”

[5:11]  ⁹ tn Or “because we know what it means to fear the Lord.”

[5:11]  ¹⁰ tn The present tense of πείθομεν (peiqomen) has been translated as a conative present.

[5:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is generic here since clearly both men and women are in view (Paul did not attempt to win only men to the gospel he preached).

[5:11]  ¹² tn Or “clearly evident.” BDAG 1048 s.v. φανερόω 2.b.β has “θεῷ πεφανερώμεθα we are well known to God 2 Cor 5:11a, cp. 11b; 11:6 v.l.”

[5:14]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ (Jh agaph tou Cristou, “the love of Christ”) could be translated as either objective genitive (“our love for Christ”) or subjective genitive (“Christ’s love for us”). Either is grammatically possible, but with the reference to Christ’s death for all in the following clauses, a subjective genitive (“Christ’s love for us”) is more likely.

[5:14]  ¹¹ tn Grk “one”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “we know.”

[5:16]  ¹² tn Grk “no one according to the flesh.”

[5:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “we have known Christ according to the flesh.”

[8:9]  ¹² tn Or “generosity.”

[10:10]  ¹³ tn Or “unimpressive.”

[10:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “is contemptible”; Grk “is despised.”

[10:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “boast excessively.” The phrase εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα (ei" ta ametra) is an idiom; literally it means “into that which is not measured,” that is, a point on a scale that goes beyond what might be expected (L&N 78.27).

[10:13]  ¹⁵ tn The words “will confine our boasting” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to boasting must be repeated from the previous clause to clarify for the modern reader what is being limited.

[10:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “according to the measure of the rule which God has apportioned to us as a measure”; for the translation used in the text see L&N 37.100.

[10:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “with the gospel of Christ,” but since Χριστοῦ (Cristou) is clearly an objective genitive here, it is better to translate “with the gospel about Christ.”

[13:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.