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 1:9

1:9 Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, ³  so that we would not trust in ourselves ⁴  but in God who raises the dead.

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 ⁵  – came with glory, so that the Israelites ⁶  could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face ⁷  (a glory ⁸  which was made ineffective), ⁹ 

2 Corinthians 5:10

5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ¹⁰  so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. ¹¹ 

2 Corinthians 9:5

9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you in advance and to arrange ahead of time the generous contribution ¹²  you had promised, so this may be ready as a generous gift ¹³  and not as something you feel forced to do. ¹⁴ 

[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.”

[1:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “might not put confidence in ourselves.”

[3:7]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

[3:7]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[5:10]  ⁷ sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a common item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city. Use of the term in reference to Christ’s judgment would be familiar to Paul’s 1st century readers.

[5:10]  ⁸ tn Or “whether good or bad.”

[9:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “the blessing.”

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a blessing.”

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “as a covetousness”; that is, a gift given grudgingly or under compulsion.