2 Corinthians 2:7

2:7 so that now instead ¹  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ²  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ³ 

2 Corinthians 2:10

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,

[2:7]  ¹ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

[2:7]  ² 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]  ³ 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.