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 3:3

3:3 revealing ³  that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, ⁴  written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets ⁵  but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 5:4

5:4 For we groan while we are in this tent, ⁶  since we are weighed down, ⁷  because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

[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.”

[3:3]  ³ tn Or “making plain.”

[3:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter (BDAG 229 s.v. διακονέω 1). Since the following phrase refers to the writing of the letter, and since the previous verse speaks of this “letter” being “written on our [Paul’s and his companions’] hearts” it is more probable that the phrase “cared for by us” refers to the delivery of the letter (in the person of Paul and his companions).

[3:3]  ⁵ sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11.

[5:4]  ⁵ sn See the note in 5:1 on the phrase the tent we live in.

[5:4]  ⁶ tn Or “we are burdened.”