2 Corinthians 1:4

1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles ¹  so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble ²  with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:6

1:6 But if we are afflicted, ³  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 1:9

1:9 Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, ⁴  so that we would not trust in ourselves ⁵  but in God who raises the dead.

2 Corinthians 1:19

1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us – by me and Silvanus ⁶  and Timothy – was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him.

2 Corinthians 2:3

2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, ⁷  so that when I came ⁸  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 3:7

The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry

3:7 But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets ⁹  – came with glory, so that the Israelites ¹⁰  could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face ¹¹  (a glory ¹²  which was made ineffective), ¹³ 

2 Corinthians 7:7

7:7 We were encouraged ¹⁴  not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement ¹⁵  you gave ¹⁶  him, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, ¹⁷  your deep concern ¹⁸  for me, so that I rejoiced more than ever.

2 Corinthians 7:11

7:11 For see what this very thing, this sadness ¹⁹  as God intended, has produced in you: what eagerness, what defense of yourselves, ²⁰  what indignation, ²¹  what alarm, what longing, what deep concern, ²²  what punishment! ²³  In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

2 Corinthians 7:14

7:14 For if I have boasted to him about anything concerning you, I have not been embarrassed by you, ²⁴  but just as everything we said to you was true, ²⁵  so our boasting to Titus about you ²⁶  has proved true as well.

2 Corinthians 9:13

9:13 Through the evidence ²⁷  of this service ²⁸  they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing ²⁹  with them and with everyone.

2 Corinthians 10:1

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you ³⁰  personally ³¹  by the meekness and gentleness ³²  of Christ (I who am meek ³³  when present among ³⁴  you, but am full of courage ³⁵  toward you when away!) –

2 Corinthians 10:12

Paul’s Mission

10:12 For we would not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. ³⁶ 

2 Corinthians 11:3

11:3 But I am afraid that ³⁷  just as the serpent ³⁸  deceived Eve by his treachery, ³⁹  your minds may be led astray ⁴⁰  from a sincere and pure ⁴¹  devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 12:13

12:13 For how ⁴²  were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this injustice!

[1:4]  ¹ tn Or “our trials”; traditionally, “our affliction.” The term θλῖψις (qliyi") refers to trouble (including persecution) that involves direct suffering (L&N 22.2).

[1:4]  ² tn Or “any trials”; traditionally, “any affliction.”

[1:6]  ³ tn Or “are troubled.”

[1:9]  ⁵ tn Grk “we ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves.” Here ἀπόκριμα (apokrima) is being used figuratively; no actual official verdict had been given, but in light of all the difficulties that Paul and his colleagues had suffered, it seemed to them as though such an official verdict had been rendered against them (L&N 56.26).

[1:9]  ⁶ tn Or “might not put confidence in ourselves.”

[1:19]  ⁷ sn Silvanus is usually considered to be the same person as Silas (L&N 93.340).

[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.

[3:7]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

[3:7]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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.

[7:7]  ¹³ tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “We were encouraged.”

[7:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “comfort,” “consolation.”

[7:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “by the encouragement with which he was encouraged by you.” The passive construction was translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the repeated word “encouraged” was replaced in the translation by “gave” to avoid redundancy in the translation.

[7:7]  ¹⁶ tn Or “your grieving,” “your deep sorrow.”

[7:7]  ¹⁷ tn Or “your zeal.”

[7:11]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “this very thing, to be grieved.”

[7:11]  ¹⁶ tn The words “of yourselves” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[7:11]  ¹⁷ sn What indignation refers to the Corinthians’ indignation at the offender.

[7:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “what zeal.”

[7:11]  ¹⁹ sn That is, punishment for the offender.

[7:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “I have not been put to shame”; the words “by you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[7:14]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “just as we spoke everything to you in truth.”

[7:14]  ¹⁹ tn The words “about you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[9:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “proof,” or perhaps “testing” (NRSV).

[9:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “ministry.”

[9:13]  ²¹ tn Or “your partnership”; Grk “your fellowship.”

[10:1]  ²¹ tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.

[10:1]  ²² tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.

[10:1]  ²³ tn Or “leniency and clemency.” D. Walker, “Paul’s Offer of Leniency of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:1): Populist Ideology and Rhetoric in a Pauline Letter Fragment (2 Cor 10:1-13:10)” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1998), argues for this alternative translation for three main reasons: (1) When the two Greek nouns πραΰτης and ἐπιείκεια (prauth" and ejpieikeia) are used together, 90% of the time the nuance is “leniency and clemency.” (2) “Leniency and clemency” has a military connotation, which is precisely what appears in the following verses. (3) 2 Cor 10-13 speaks of Paul’s sparing use of his authority, which points to the nuance of “leniency and clemency.”

[10:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

[10:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “when face to face with.”

[10:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “but bold.”

[10:12]  ²³ tn Or “they are unintelligent.”

[11:3]  ²⁵ tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”

[11:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “the snake.”

[11:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “craftiness.”

[11:3]  ²⁸ tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”

[11:3]  ²⁹ tc Although most mss (א² H Ψ 0121 0243 1739 1881 Ï) lack “and pure” (καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, kai th" Jagnothto"; Grk “and purity”) several important and early witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B D^[2] F G 33 81 104 pc ar r co) retain these words. Their presence in such mss across such a wide geographical distribution argues for their authenticity. The omission from the majority of mss can be explained by haplography, since the -τητος ending of ἁγνότητος is identical to the ending of ἁπλότητος (Japlothto", “sincerity”) three words back (ἁπλότητος καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος); further, since the meanings of “sincerity” and “purity” are similar they might seem redundant. A copyist would scarcely notice the omission because Paul’s statement still makes sense without “and from purity.”

[12:13]  ²⁷ tn Grk “For in what respect.”