2 Corinthians 2:5-11

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

2 Corinthians 7:9-11

7:9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad, ⁹  but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended, ¹⁰  so that you were not harmed ¹¹  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 ¹²  as God intended, has produced in you: what eagerness, what defense of yourselves, ¹³  what indignation, ¹⁴  what alarm, what longing, what deep concern, ¹⁵  what punishment! ¹⁶  In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

2 Corinthians 10:6

10:6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, ¹⁷  whenever your obedience is complete.

2 Corinthians 10:1

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you ¹⁸  personally ¹⁹  by the meekness and gentleness ²⁰  of Christ (I who am meek ²¹  when present among ²²  you, but am full of courage ²³  toward you when away!) –

Colossians 1:9-11

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ²⁴  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ²⁵  to fill ²⁶  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ²⁷  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²⁸  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²⁹  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Revelation 22:20

22:20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

[2:5]  ¹ tn Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”

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

[2:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”

[2:9]  ⁶ tn The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).

[2:9]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “be taken advantage of.”

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

[7:9]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Grk “so that you did not suffer loss.”

[7:11]  ¹² tn Grk “this very thing, to be grieved.”

[7:11]  ¹³ tn The words “of yourselves” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[7:11]  ¹⁴ sn What indignation refers to the Corinthians’ indignation at the offender.

[7:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “what zeal.”

[7:11]  ¹⁶ sn That is, punishment for the offender.

[10:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “punish all disobedience.”

[10:1]  ¹⁸ tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.

[10:1]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

[10:1]  ²² tn Or “when face to face with.”

[10:1]  ²³ tn Or “but bold.”

[1:9]  ²⁴ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ²⁵ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ²⁶ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ²⁷ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:11]  ²⁹ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.