2 Corinthians 2:1--3:18

2:1 So ¹  I made up my own mind ²  not to pay you another painful visit. ³  2:2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad ⁴  but the one I caused to be sad? 2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, ⁵  so that when I came ⁶  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. ⁷  2:5 But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate) ⁸  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 ⁹  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ¹⁰  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ¹¹  2:8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ¹²  2:9 For this reason also I wrote you: ¹³  to test you to see ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). 2:12 Now when I arrived in Troas ¹⁶  to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened ¹⁷  a door of opportunity ¹⁸  for me, 2:13 I had no relief in my spirit, ¹⁹  because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them ²⁰  and set out ²¹  for Macedonia.

Apostolic Ministry

2:14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession ²²  in Christ ²³  and who makes known ²⁴  through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 2:15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing – 2:16 to the latter an odor ²⁵  from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? ²⁶  2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, ²⁷  but we are speaking in Christ before ²⁸  God as persons of sincerity, ²⁹  as persons sent from God.

A Living Letter

3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we? ³⁰  3:2 You yourselves are our letter, ³¹  written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3:3 revealing ³²  that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, ³³  written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets ³⁴  but on tablets of human hearts.

3:4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 3:5 Not that we are adequate ³⁵  in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy ³⁶  is from God, 3:6 who made us adequate ³⁷  to be servants of a new covenant ³⁸  not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry

3:7 But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets ³⁹  – came with glory, so that the Israelites ⁴⁰  could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face ⁴¹  (a glory ⁴²  which was made ineffective), ⁴³  3:8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be? ⁴⁴  3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, ⁴⁵  how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness ⁴⁶  excel ⁴⁷  in glory! 3:10 For indeed, what had been glorious now ⁴⁸  has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it. ⁴⁹  3:11 For if what was made ineffective ⁵⁰  came with ⁵¹  glory, how much more has what remains ⁵²  come in glory! 3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness, ⁵³  3:13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites ⁵⁴  from staring ⁵⁵  at the result ⁵⁶  of the glory that was made ineffective. ⁵⁷  3:14 But their minds were closed. ⁵⁸  For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read. ⁵⁹  It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away. ⁶⁰  3:15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds, ⁶¹  3:16 but when one ⁶²  turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ⁶³  3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, ⁶⁴  there is freedom. 3:18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, ⁶⁵  are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, ⁶⁶  which is from ⁶⁷  the Lord, who is the Spirit. ⁶⁸ 

2 Corinthians 10:2

10:2 now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving ⁶⁹  according to human standards. ⁷⁰ 

2 Corinthians 10:6-11

10:6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, ⁷¹  whenever your obedience is complete. 10:7 You are looking at outward appearances. ⁷²  If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we. 10:8 For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us ⁷³  for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so. ⁷⁴  10:9 I do not want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters, 10:10 because some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is weak ⁷⁵  and his speech is of no account.” ⁷⁶  10:11 Let such a person consider this: What we say ⁷⁷  by letters when we are absent, we also are in actions when we are present.

2 Corinthians 12:20

12:20 For I am afraid that somehow when I come I will not find you what I wish, and you will find me ⁷⁸  not what you wish. I am afraid that ⁷⁹  somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition, ⁸⁰  slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

2 Corinthians 13:2

13:2 I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone, ⁸¹ 

2 Corinthians 13:10

13:10 Because of this I am writing these things while absent, so that when I arrive ⁸²  I may not have to deal harshly with you ⁸³  by using my authority – the Lord gave it to me for building up, not for tearing down!

2 Corinthians 13:1

Paul’s Third Visit to Corinth

13:1 This is the third time I am coming to visit ⁸⁴  you. By the testimony ⁸⁵  of two or three witnesses every matter will be established. ⁸⁶ 

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Colossians 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁸⁷  from the hope laid up ⁸⁸  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁸⁹ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁹⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:20

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ⁹¹  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

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

[2:1]  ³ tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”

[2:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[2:3]  ⁶ sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”

[2:5]  ⁸ tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”

[2:7]  ⁹ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

[2:7]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”

[2:9]  ¹³ tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).

[2:9]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Or “be taken advantage of.”

[2:12]  ¹⁶ sn Troas was a city and region in the northwest corner of Asia Minor.

[2:12]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Or “I had no peace of mind.”

[2:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “I took my leave of them.”

[2:13]  ²¹ tn Since this refers to the outset of a journey, the aorist ἐξῆλθον (exhlqon) is taken ingressively.

[2:14]  ²² tn Or “who always causes us to triumph.”

[2:14]  ²³ tn Or “in the Messiah.”

[2:14]  ²⁴ tn Or “who reveals.”

[2:16]  ²⁵ tn The same Greek word (ὀσμή, osmh) translated “odor” here (in relation to the stench of death) has been translated “fragrance” in 2:14 and in the next phrase of the present verse. The word itself can describe a smell or odor either agreeable or disagreeable depending on the context (L&N 79.45).

[2:16]  ²⁶ sn These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.

[2:17]  ²⁷ tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kaphleuonte") refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed – “to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle…for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term.

[2:17]  ²⁸ tn Or “in the presence of.”

[2:17]  ²⁹ tn Or “persons of pure motives.”

[3:1]  ³⁰ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply (“No, we do not”) which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “do we?”

[3:2]  ³¹ tn That is, “letter of recommendation.”

[3:3]  ³² tn Or “making plain.”

[3:3]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11.

[3:5]  ³⁵ tn Or “competent.”

[3:5]  ³⁶ tn Or “competence.”

[3:6]  ³⁷ tn Or “competent.”

[3:6]  ³⁸ sn This new covenant is promised in Jer 31:31-34; 32:40.

[3:7]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

[3:7]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ 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.

[3:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “how will not rather the ministry of the Spirit be with glory?”

[3:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.”

[3:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.”

[3:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Traditionally, “abound.”

[3:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “in this case.”

[3:10]  ⁴⁹ tn The words “of what replaced it” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[3:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “what was fading away.” See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

[3:11]  ⁵¹ tn Or “through” (διά, dia).

[3:11]  ⁵² tn Or “what is permanent.”

[3:12]  ⁵³ tn Or “we employ great openness of speech.”

[3:13]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.”

[3:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “from gazing intently.”

[3:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “end.” The word τέλος (telos) can mean both “a point of time marking the end of a duration, end, termination, cessation” and “the goal toward which a movement is being directed, end, goal, outcome” (see BDAG 998-999 s.v.). The translation accepts the interpretation that Moses covered the glory of his face with the veil to prevent Israel from being judged by the glory of God (see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel [WUNT 81], 347-62); in this case the latter meaning for τέλος is more appropriate.

[3:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “was fading away”; Grk “on the result of what was made ineffective.” The referent (glory) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

[3:14]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “their minds were hardened.”

[3:14]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant”; the phrase “they hear” has been introduced (“when they hear the old covenant read”) to make the link with the “Israelites” (v. 13) whose minds were closed (v. 14a) more obvious to the reader.

[3:14]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “only in Christ is it eliminated.”

[3:15]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “their heart.”

[3:16]  ⁶² tn Or perhaps “when(ever) he turns,” referring to Moses.

[3:16]  ⁶³ sn An allusion to Exod 34:34. The entire verse may refer to Moses, viewing him as a type portraying the Jewish convert to Christianity in Paul’s day.

[3:17]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “where the Spirit of the Lord is”; the word “present” is supplied to specify that the presence of the Lord’s Spirit is emphasized rather than the mere existence of the Lord’s Spirit.

[3:18]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.”

[3:18]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “from glory to glory.”

[3:18]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “just as from.”

[3:18]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “from the Lord, the Spirit”; the genitive πνεύματος (pneumato") has been translated as a genitive of apposition.

[10:2]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “consider us as walking.”

[10:2]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

[10:6]  ⁷¹ tn Or “punish all disobedience.”

[10:7]  ⁷² tn The phrase is close to a recognized idiom for judging based on outward appearances (L&N 30.120). Some translators see a distinction, however, and translate 2 Cor 10:7a as “Look at what is in front of your eyes,” that is, the obvious facts of the case (so NRSV).

[10:8]  ⁷³ tn The word “us” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Indirect objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[10:8]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “I will not be put to shame,” “I will not be ashamed.” The words “of doing so” are supplied to clarify for the reader that Paul will not be ashamed of boasting somewhat more about the authority the Lord gave him (beginning of v. 8).

[10:10]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “unimpressive.”

[10:10]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “is contemptible”; Grk “is despised.”

[10:11]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “what we are in word.”

[12:20]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “and I will be found by you.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation.

[12:20]  ⁷⁹ tn The words “I am afraid that” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are needed for clarity.

[12:20]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “intense anger, hostility.”

[13:2]  ⁸¹ tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[13:10]  ⁸² tn Grk “when I am present,” but in the context of Paul’s third (upcoming) visit to Corinth, this is better translated as “when I arrive.”

[13:10]  ⁸³ tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[13:1]  ⁸⁴ tn The word “visit” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[13:1]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “By the mouth.”

[13:1]  ⁸⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 19:15 (also quoted in Matt 18:16; 1 Tim 5:19).

[1:5]  ⁸⁷ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ⁸⁸ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁸⁹ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:1]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:20]  ⁹¹ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.