2 Corinthians 2:4-11

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. ¹  2:5 But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate) ²  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 ³  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ⁴  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ⁵  2:8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁶  2:9 For this reason also I wrote you: ⁷  to test you to see ⁸  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 ⁹  by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”

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

[2:7]  ³ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

[2:7]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”

[2:9]  ⁷ tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).

[2:9]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “be taken advantage of.”