2 Corinthians 5:16--6:2

5:16 So then from now on we acknowledge ¹  no one from an outward human point of view. ²  Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, ³  now we do not know him in that way any longer. 5:17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away ⁴  – look, what is new ⁵  has come! ⁶  5:18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 5:19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us ⁷  the message of reconciliation. 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea ⁸  through us. We plead with you ⁹  on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 5:21 God ¹⁰  made the one who did not know sin ¹¹  to be sin for us, so that in him ¹²  we would become the righteousness of God.

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. ¹³  6:2 For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” ¹⁴  Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation!

[5:16]  ¹ tn Grk “we know.”

[5:16]  ² tn Grk “no one according to the flesh.”

[5:16]  ³ tn Grk “we have known Christ according to the flesh.”

[5:17]  ⁴ tn Grk “old things have passed away.”

[5:17]  ⁵ tc Most mss have the words τὰ πάντα (ta panta, “all things”; cf. KJV “behold, all things are become new”), some after καίνα (kaina, “new”; D² K L P Ψ 104 326 945 2464 pm) and others before it (6 33 81 614 630 1241 1505 1881 pm). The reading without τὰ πάντα, however, has excellent support from both the Western and Alexandrian texttypes (Ì⁴⁶ א B C D* F G 048 0243 365 629 1175 1739 pc co), and the different word order of the phrase which includes it (“all things new” or “new all things”) in the ms tradition indicates its secondary character. This secondary addition may have taken place because of assimilation to τὰ δὲ πάντα (ta de panta, “and all [these] things”) that begins the following verse.

[5:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “new things have come [about].”

[5:19]  ⁷ tn Or “he has entrusted to us.”

[5:20]  ¹⁰ tn Or “as though God were begging.”

[5:20]  ¹¹ tn Or “we beg you.”

[5:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:21]  ¹⁴ sn The one who did not know sin is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[5:21]  ¹⁵ sn That is, “in Christ.”

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “receive the grace of God uselessly.”

[6:2]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 49:8.