2 Corinthians 1:8--2:13

1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, ¹  regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia, ²  that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living. 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. 1:10 He ⁵  delivered us from so great a risk of death, and he will deliver us. We have set our hope on him ⁶  that ⁷  he will deliver us yet again, 1:11 as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God ⁸  on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.

Paul Defends His Changed Plans

1:12 For our reason for confidence ⁹  is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives ¹⁰  and sincerity which are from God ¹¹  – not by human wisdom ¹²  but by the grace of God – we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more ¹³  toward you. 1:13 For we do not write you anything other than what ¹⁴  you can read and also understand. But I hope that you will understand completely ¹⁵  1:14 just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours ¹⁶  in the day of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷  1:15 And with this confidence I intended to come to you first so that you would get a second opportunity to see us, ¹⁸  1:16 and through your help to go on into Macedonia and then from Macedonia to come back ¹⁹  to you and be helped on our way into Judea by you. 1:17 Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? ²⁰  Or do I make my plans ²¹  according to mere human standards ²²  so that I would be saying ²³  both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 1:18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us – by me and Silvanus ²⁴  and Timothy – was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him. 1:20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 1:21 But it is God who establishes ²⁵  us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, ²⁶  1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. ²⁷ 

Why Paul Postponed His Visit

1:23 Now I appeal to God as my witness, ²⁸  that to spare ²⁹  you I did not come again to Corinth. ³⁰  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. ³¹  2:1 So ³²  I made up my own mind ³³  not to pay you another painful visit. ³⁴  2:2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad ³⁵  but the one I caused to be sad? 2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, ³⁶  so that when I came ³⁷  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. 2:4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you. ³⁸  2:5 But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate) ³⁹  he has saddened all of you as well. 2:6 This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, 2:7 so that now instead ⁴⁰  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ⁴¹  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ⁴²  2:8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁴³  2:9 For this reason also I wrote you: ⁴⁴  to test you to see ⁴⁵  if you are obedient in everything. 2:10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him – for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, 2:11 so that we may not be exploited ⁴⁶  by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). 2:12 Now when I arrived in Troas ⁴⁷  to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened ⁴⁸  a door of opportunity ⁴⁹  for me, 2:13 I had no relief in my spirit, ⁵⁰  because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them ⁵¹  and set out ⁵²  for Macedonia.

[1:8]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1., where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:8]  ² tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[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.”

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative clause “who delivered us…” was made a separate sentence in the translation.

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Grk “deliver us, on whom we have set our hope.”

[1:10]  ⁷ tc Several important witnesses, especially Alexandrian (Ì⁴⁶ B D* 0121 0243 1739 1881 pc Did), lack ὅτι ({oti, “that”) here, while others, most notably Western (D¹ F G 104 630 1505 pc ar b sy^h Or Ambst), lack ἔτι (eti, “yet”). Most mss, including important Alexandrians (א A C D² Ψ 33 Ï f t vg), have the full expression ὅτι καὶ ἔτι ({oti kai eti). Although the predominantly Alexandrian reading has much to commend it, the fact that either ὅτι or ἔτι has been dropped, while the καί has been retained, suggests that the original wording had ὅτι καὶ ἔτι, and that either particle dropped out intentionally for stylistic reasons. (F and G have the order καί ὅτι, suggesting that in their archetype the ἔτι was unintentionally dropped due to homoioteleuton.) If, however, ὅτι is not authentic, v. 10b should be translated “We have set our hope on him, and he will deliver us again.” Overall, a decision is difficult, but preference should be given to ὅτι καὶ ἔτι.

[1:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “so that thanks may be given by many.” The words “to God” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The passive construction has been converted to an active one for clarity, in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:12]  ⁹ tn Or “for boasting.”

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tc Two viable variants exist at this place in the text: ἁγιότητι (Jagiothti, “holiness”) vs. ἁπλότητι (Japlothti, “pure motives”). A confusion of letters could well have produced the variant (TCGNT 507): In uncial script the words would have been written agiothti and aplothti. This, however, does not explain which reading created the other. Overall ἁπλότητι, though largely a Western-Byzantine reading (א² D F G Ï lat sy), is better suited to the context; it is also a Pauline word while ἁγιότης (Jagioth") is not. It also best explains the rise of the other variants, πραότητι (praothti, “gentleness”) and {σπλάγχνοις} (splancnoi", “compassion”). On the other hand, the external evidence in favor of ἁγιότητι is extremely strong (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C K P Ψ 0121 0243 33 81 1739 1881 al co). This diversity of mss provides excellent evidence for authenticity, but because of the internal evidence listed above, ἁπλότητι is to be preferred, albeit only slightly.

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “pure motives and sincerity of God.”

[1:12]  ¹² tn Or “not by worldly wisdom.”

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Or “and especially.”

[1:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “than the things.”

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to the end,” a Greek idiom for “fully,” “totally,” “completely.”

[1:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “that we are your boast even as you are our boast.”

[1:14]  ¹⁷ 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.

[1:15]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “a second grace,” “a second favor” (used figuratively of a second visit by Paul).

[1:16]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “come again.”

[1:17]  ²⁰ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer. This is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question “did I?” at the end of the sentence.

[1:17]  ²¹ tn Grk “the things that I plan, do I plan (them).”

[1:17]  ²² tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

[1:17]  ²³ tn Grk “so that with me there should be.”

[1:19]  ²⁴ sn Silvanus is usually considered to be the same person as Silas (L&N 93.340).

[1:21]  ²⁵ tn Or “strengthens.”

[1:21]  ²⁶ tn Grk “But he who establishes us together with you in Christ and anointed us is God.”

[1:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit.”

[1:23]  ²⁸ tn Grk “I call upon God as witness against my soul.” Normally this implies an appeal for help (L&N 33.176).

[1:23]  ²⁹ tn Here φειδόμενος (feidomeno") has been translated as a telic participle.

[1:23]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Or “because you stand firm in the faith.”

[2:1]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Or “I decided this for myself.”

[2:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”

[2:2]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[2:3]  ³⁷ sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.

[2:4]  ³⁸ tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”

[2:5]  ³⁹ tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”

[2:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

[2:7]  ⁴¹ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.

[2:7]  ⁴² tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:8]  ⁴³ tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”

[2:9]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).

[2:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “to know the proof of you,” that is, to know if the Corinthians’ obedience to Paul as an apostle was genuine (L&N 72.7).

[2:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “be taken advantage of.”

[2:12]  ⁴⁷ sn Troas was a city and region in the northwest corner of Asia Minor.

[2:12]  ⁴⁸ tn This has been translated as a concessive participle (“even though”). The passive construction (“a door of opportunity had been opened for me by the Lord”) has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity.

[2:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “a door”; the phrase ἀνοίγω θύραν (anoigw quran, “to open a door”) is an idiom meaning “to make possible some opportunity” (L&N 71.9).

[2:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “I had no peace of mind.”

[2:13]  ⁵¹ tn Or “I took my leave of them.”

[2:13]  ⁵² tn Since this refers to the outset of a journey, the aorist ἐξῆλθον (exhlqon) is taken ingressively.