2 Corinthians 7:3-4

7:3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I told you before ¹  that you are in our hearts so that we die together and live together with you. ² 

A Letter That Caused Sadness

7:4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride ³  on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement; ⁴  I am overflowing with joy in the midst of ⁵  all our suffering.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Self-Purification

7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves ⁶  from everything that could defile the body ⁷  and the spirit, and thus accomplish ⁸  holiness out of reverence for God. ⁹ 

2 Corinthians 2:1

2:1 So ¹⁰  I made up my own mind ¹¹  not to pay you another painful visit. ¹² 

Job 32:20

32:20 I will speak, ¹³  so that I may find relief;

I will open my lips, so that I may answer.

Job 33:2-3

33:2 See now, I have opened ¹⁴  my mouth;

my tongue in my mouth has spoken. ¹⁵ 

33:3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart, ¹⁶ 

and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 51:15

51:15 O Lord, give me the words! ¹⁸ 

Then my mouth will praise you. ¹⁹ 

[7:3]  ¹ sn See 2 Cor 1:4-7.

[7:3]  ² tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:4]  ³ tn Grk “great is my boasting.”

[7:4]  ⁴ tn Or “comfort.”

[7:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “I am overflowing with joy in all our suffering”; the words “in the midst of” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to clarify that Paul is not rejoicing in the suffering itself, but in his relationship with the Corinthians in the midst of all his suffering.

[7:1]  ⁶ tn Or “purify ourselves.”

[7:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “from every defilement of the flesh.”

[7:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “accomplishing.” The participle has been translated as a finite verb due to considerations of contemporary English style, and “thus” has been supplied to indicate that it represents a result of the previous cleansing.

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “in the fear of God.”

[2:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “I decided this for myself.”

[2:1]  ¹² tn Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.”

[32:20]  ¹³ tn The cohortative expresses Elihu’s resolve to speak.

[33:2]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verbs in this verse should be classified as perfects of resolve: “I have decided to open…speak.”

[33:2]  ¹⁵ sn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 210) says, “The self-importance of Elihu is boundless, and he is the master of banality.” He adds that whoever wrote these speeches this way clearly intended to expose the character rather than exalt him.

[33:3]  ¹⁶ tc This expression is unusual; R. Gordis (Job, 371) says it can be translated, “the purity of my heart [is reflected] in my words,” but that is far-fetched and awkward. So there have been suggestions for emending יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”). Kissane’s makes the most sense if a change is desired: “shall reveal” (an Arabic sense of yasher), although Holscher interpreted “shall affirm” (yasher, with a Syriac sense). Dhorme has “my heart will repeat” (יָשׁוּר, yashur), but this is doubtful. If Kissane’s view is taken, it would say, “my heart will reveal my words.” Some commentators would join “and knowledge” to this colon, and read “words of knowledge” – but that requires even more emendations.

[33:3]  ¹⁷ tn More literally, “and the knowledge of my lips they will speak purely.”

[51:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”