2 Corinthians 10:1

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you ¹  personally ²  by the meekness and gentleness ³  of Christ (I who am meek ⁴  when present among ⁵  you, but am full of courage ⁶  toward you when away!) –

2 Corinthians 6:1--7:16

God’s Suffering Servants

6:1 Now because we are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ⁷  6:2 For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” ⁸  Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation! 6:3 We do not give anyone ⁹  an occasion for taking an offense in anything, ¹⁰  so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 6:4 But as God’s servants, ¹¹  we have commended ourselves in every way, ¹²  with great endurance, in persecutions, ¹³  in difficulties, in distresses, 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, ¹⁴  in troubles, ¹⁵  in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6:6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶  by genuine ¹⁷  love, 6:7 by truthful ¹⁸  teaching, ¹⁹  by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left, ²⁰  6:8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors, ²¹  and yet true; 6:9 as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet – see! – we continue to live; as those who are scourged ²²  and yet not executed; 6:10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

6:11 We have spoken freely to you, ²³  Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide to you. 6:12 Our affection for you is not restricted, ²⁴  but you are restricted in your affections for us. 6:13 Now as a fair exchange – I speak as to my ²⁵  children – open wide your hearts to us ²⁶  also.

Unequal Partners

6:14 Do not become partners ²⁷  with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 6:15 And what agreement does Christ have with Beliar? ²⁸  Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? 6:16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are ²⁹  the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them ³⁰  and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ³¹  6:17 Therefore “come out from their midst, and be separate,” says the Lord, “and touch no unclean thing, ³²  and I will welcome ³³  you, ³⁴  6:18 and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,” ³⁵  says the All-Powerful Lord. ³⁶ 

Self-Purification

7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves ³⁷  from everything that could defile the body ³⁸  and the spirit, and thus accomplish ³⁹  holiness out of reverence for God. ⁴⁰  7:2 Make room for us in your hearts; ⁴¹  we have wronged no one, we have ruined no one, ⁴²  we have exploited no one. ⁴³  7:3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I told you before ⁴⁴  that you are in our hearts so that we die together and live together with you. ⁴⁵ 

A Letter That Caused Sadness

7:4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride ⁴⁶  on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement; ⁴⁷  I am overflowing with joy in the midst of ⁴⁸  all our suffering. 7:5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our body ⁴⁹  had no rest at all, but we were troubled in every way – struggles from the outside, fears from within. 7:6 But God, who encourages ⁵⁰  the downhearted, encouraged ⁵¹  us by the arrival of Titus. 7:7 We were encouraged ⁵²  not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement ⁵³  you gave ⁵⁴  him, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, ⁵⁵  your deep concern ⁵⁶  for me, so that I rejoiced more than ever. 7:8 For even if I made you sad ⁵⁷  by my letter, ⁵⁸  I do not regret having written it ⁵⁹  (even though I did regret it, ⁶⁰  for ⁶¹  I see that my letter made you sad, ⁶²  though only for a short time). 7:9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad, ⁶³  but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended, ⁶⁴  so that you were not harmed ⁶⁵  in any way by us. 7:10 For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death. 7:11 For see what this very thing, this sadness ⁶⁶  as God intended, has produced in you: what eagerness, what defense of yourselves, ⁶⁷  what indignation, ⁶⁸  what alarm, what longing, what deep concern, ⁶⁹  what punishment! ⁷⁰  In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 7:12 So then, even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong, or on account of the one who was wronged, but to reveal to you your eagerness on our behalf ⁷¹  before God. 7:13 Therefore we have been encouraged. And in addition to our own encouragement, we rejoiced even more at the joy of Titus, because all of you have refreshed his spirit. ⁷²  7:14 For if I have boasted to him about anything concerning you, I have not been embarrassed by you, ⁷³  but just as everything we said to you was true, ⁷⁴  so our boasting to Titus about you ⁷⁵  has proved true as well. 7:15 And his affection for you is much greater ⁷⁶  when he remembers the obedience of you all, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. 7:16 I rejoice because in everything I am fully confident in you.

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

[10:1]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

[10:1]  ⁵ tn Or “when face to face with.”

[10:1]  ⁶ tn Or “but bold.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Or “receive the grace of God uselessly.”

[6:2]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Isa 49:8.

[6:3]  ¹⁹ tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[6:3]  ²⁰ tn Other interpretations of the first part of 2 Cor 6:3 are possible. The phrase could also mean, “not putting an obstacle in the way of anyone” (L&N 22.14), or “giving no one in anything a cause to sin” (L&N 88.307).

[6:4]  ²⁵ tn Or “ministers.”

[6:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “we have commended ourselves by all things.”

[6:4]  ²⁷ tn Or “in trouble and suffering.”

[6:5]  ³¹ tn Or “rebellions” (uprisings in open defiance of civil authority).

[6:5]  ³² tn Usually κόποις (kopois) has been translated as “labors” or “hard work,” but see Matt 26:10 where it means “trouble”; “distress” (L&N 22.7). In this context with so many other terms denoting suffering and difficulty, such a meaning is preferable.

[6:6]  ³⁷ tn Or “by holiness of spirit.”

[6:6]  ³⁸ tn Or “sincere.”

[6:7]  ⁴³ tn Grk “by the word of truth”; understanding ἀληθείας (alhqeias) as an attributive genitive (“truthful word”).

[6:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “speech.” In this context it is more likely that λόγος (logos) refers to Paul’s message (thus “teaching”) than to his speech in general.

[6:7]  ⁴⁵ tn The phrase “for the right hand and for the left” possibly refers to a combination of an offensive weapon (a sword for the right hand) and a defensive weapon (a shield for the left).

[6:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “regarded as deceivers.”

[6:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “disciplined,” but in this context probably a reference to scourging prior to execution (yet the execution is not carried out).

[6:11]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “our mouth has been open to you,” an idiom for openness in communication.

[6:12]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “You are not restricted by us.”

[6:13]  ⁷³ tn The word “my” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[6:13]  ⁷⁴ tn The words “to us” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[6:14]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “Do not be mismatched.”

[6:15]  ⁸⁵ sn The Greek term Βελιάρ (Beliar) is a spelling variant for Βελιάλ (Belial, see Judg 20:13 LXX). It occurs only here in the NT. Beliar is a reference to Satan.

[6:16]  ⁹¹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (Ì⁴⁶ א² C D² F G Ψ 0209 Ï lat sy Tert), read ὑμεῖς…ἐστε (Jumei"…este, “you are”) instead of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν (Jhmei"…esmen, “we are”) here, but several other early and important mss (א* B D* L P 0243 6 33 81 326 365 1175 1739 1881 2464 co Cl Or) have ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν. The external evidence is somewhat in favor of the first person pronoun and verb; the internal evidence weighs in even stronger. In light of the parallel in 1 Cor 3:16, where Paul uses ἐστε (“you are the temple of God”), as well as the surrounding context here in which the second person verb or pronoun is used in vv. 14, 17, and 18, the second person reading seems obviously motivated. The first person reading can explain the rise of the other reading, but the reverse is not as easily done. Consequently, the first person reading of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν has all the credentials of authenticity.

[6:16]  ⁹² tn Or “live among them,” “live with them.”

[6:16]  ⁹³ sn A quotation from Lev 26:12; also similar to Jer 32:38; Ezek 37:27.

[6:17]  ⁹⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 52:11.

[6:17]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “will receive.”

[6:17]  ⁹⁹ sn A paraphrased quotation from Ezek 20:41.

[6:18]  ¹⁰³ sn A paraphrased quotation from 2 Sam 7:14 and Isa 43:6.

[6:18]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Traditionally, “the Lord Almighty.” BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…κύριος π. (oft. LXX) 2 Cor 6:18.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “purify ourselves.”

[7:1]  ¹¹⁰ tn Grk “from every defilement of the flesh.”

[7:1]  ¹¹¹ tn Grk “accomplishing.” The participle has been translated as a finite verb due to considerations of contemporary English style, and “thus” has been supplied to indicate that it represents a result of the previous cleansing.

[7:1]  ¹¹² tn Grk “in the fear of God.”

[7:2]  ¹¹⁵ tn The phrase “in your hearts” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[7:2]  ¹¹⁶ tn “We have ruined no one” may refer to financial loss (“we have caused no one to suffer financial loss”) but it may also refer to the undermining of faith (“we have corrupted no one’s faith,”). Both options are mentioned in L&N 20.23.

[7:2]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “we have taken advantage of no one.”

[7:3]  ¹²¹ sn See 2 Cor 1:4-7.

[7:3]  ¹²² tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:4]  ¹²⁷ tn Grk “great is my boasting.”

[7:4]  ¹²⁸ tn Or “comfort.”

[7:4]  ¹²⁹ tn Grk “I am overflowing with joy in all our suffering”; the words “in the midst of” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to clarify that Paul is not rejoicing in the suffering itself, but in his relationship with the Corinthians in the midst of all his suffering.

[7:5]  ¹³³ tn Grk “our flesh.”

[7:6]  ¹³⁹ tn Or “comforts,” “consoles.”

[7:6]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Or “comforted,” “consoled.”

[7:7]  ¹⁴⁵ 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]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Or “comfort,” “consolation.”

[7:7]  ¹⁴⁷ 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]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Or “your grieving,” “your deep sorrow.”

[7:7]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Or “your zeal.”

[7:8]  ¹⁵¹ tn Grk “if I grieved you.”

[7:8]  ¹⁵² sn My letter. Paul is referring to the “severe” letter mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4.

[7:8]  ¹⁵³ tn Grk “I do not regret”; direct objects in Greek must often be supplied from the context. Here one could simply supply “it,” but since Paul is referring to the effects of his previous letter, clarity is improved if “having written it” is supplied.

[7:8]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Grk “I did regret”; the direct object “it” must be supplied from the context.

[7:8]  ¹⁵⁵ tc A few important mss (Ì^46c B D* it sa) lack γάρ (gar, “for”), while the majority of witnesses have it (א C D¹ F G Ψ 0243 33 1739 1881 Ï sy bo). Even though Ì^46* omits γάρ, it has the same sense (viz., a subordinate clause) because it reads the participle βλέπων (blepwn, “seeing”; the Vulgate does the same). A decision is difficult because although the overwhelming external evidence is on the side of the conjunction, the lack of γάρ is a significantly harder reading, for the whole clause is something of an anacoluthon. Without the conjunction, the sentence reads more harshly. This would fit with Paul’s “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 435) that is found especially in 2 Corinthians and Galatians. However, the mss that omit the conjunction are prone to such tendencies at times. In this instance, the conjunction should probably stand.

[7:8]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Grk “my letter grieved you.”

[7:9]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Grk “were grieved” (so also twice later in the verse).

[7:9]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Grk “corresponding to God,” that is, corresponding to God’s will (κατὰ θεόν, kata qeon). The same phrase occurs in vv. 10 and 11.

[7:9]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Grk “so that you did not suffer loss.”

[7:11]  ¹⁶³ tn Grk “this very thing, to be grieved.”

[7:11]  ¹⁶⁴ tn The words “of yourselves” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[7:11]  ¹⁶⁵ sn What indignation refers to the Corinthians’ indignation at the offender.

[7:11]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Or “what zeal.”

[7:11]  ¹⁶⁷ sn That is, punishment for the offender.

[7:12]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Grk “but in order that your eagerness on our behalf might be revealed to you.”

[7:13]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Or “all of you have put his mind at ease.”

[7:14]  ¹⁸¹ tn Grk “I have not been put to shame”; the words “by you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[7:14]  ¹⁸² tn Grk “just as we spoke everything to you in truth.”

[7:14]  ¹⁸³ tn The words “about you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[7:15]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Or “is all the more.”