2 Korintus 3:1

A Living Letter

3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we? ¹ 

2 Korintus 8:10

8:10 So here is my opinion on this matter: It is to your advantage, since you ²  made a good start last year both in your giving and your desire to give,

2 Korintus 8:6

8:6 Thus ³  we urged ⁴  Titus that, just as he had previously begun this work, ⁵  so also he should complete this act of kindness ⁶  for you.

2 Korintus 5:16

5:16 So then from now on we acknowledge ⁷  no one from an outward human point of view. ⁸  Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, ⁹  now we do not know him in that way any longer.

2 Korintus 9:2

9:2 because I know your eagerness to help. ¹⁰  I keep boasting to the Macedonians about this eagerness of yours, ¹¹  that Achaia has been ready to give ¹²  since last year, and your zeal to participate ¹³  has stirred up most of them. ¹⁴ 

2 Korintus 3:7

The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry

3:7 But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets ¹⁵  – came with glory, so that the Israelites ¹⁶  could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face ¹⁷  (a glory ¹⁸  which was made ineffective), ¹⁹ 

2 Korintus 8:5

8:5 And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

2 Korintus 8:11

8:11 to finish what you started, ²⁰  so that just as you wanted to do it eagerly, ²¹  you can also complete it ²²  according to your means. ²³ 

2 Korintus 10:6

10:6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, ²⁴  whenever your obedience is complete.

2 Korintus 1:15

1:15 And with this confidence I intended to come to you first so that you would get a second opportunity to see us, ²⁵ 

2 Korintus 1:22

1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. ²⁶ 

2 Korintus 5:15

5:15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised. ²⁷ 

2 Korintus 5:17

5:17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away ²⁸  – look, what is new ²⁹  has come! ³⁰ 

2 Korintus 11:9

11:9 When ³¹  I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. ³²  I ³³  kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

¹ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply (“No, we do not”) which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “do we?”

² tn Grk “who.”

³ tn A new sentence was started here in the translation and the word “thus” was supplied to indicate that it expresses the result of the previous clause.

⁴ tn Or “we exhorted.”

⁵ tn The words “this work” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.

⁶ tn Grk “this grace.”

⁷ tn Grk “we know.”

⁸ tn Grk “no one according to the flesh.”

⁹ tn Grk “we have known Christ according to the flesh.”

¹⁰ tn The words “to help” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

¹¹ tn Grk “concerning which I keep boasting to the Macedonians about you.” A new sentence was started here and the translation was simplified by removing the relative clause and repeating the antecedent “this eagerness of yours.”

¹² tn The words “to give” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

¹³ tn The words “to participate” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

¹⁴ sn Most of them is a reference to the Macedonians (cf. v. 4).

¹⁵ tn Grk “on stones”; but since this is clearly an allusion to the tablets of the Decalogue (see 2 Cor 3:3) the word “tablets” was supplied in the translation to make the connection clear.

¹⁶ tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

¹⁷ sn The glory of his face. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Decalogue, the people were afraid to approach him because his face was so radiant (Exod 34:29-30).

¹⁸ tn The words “a glory” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to “glory” has been repeated from the previous clause for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Or “which was transitory.” Traditionally this phrase is translated as “which was fading away.” The verb καταργέω in the corpus Paulinum uniformly has the meaning “to render inoperative, ineffective”; the same nuance is appropriate here. The glory of Moses’ face was rendered ineffective by the veil Moses wore. For discussion of the meaning of this verb in this context, see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel (WUNT 81), 301-13. A similar translation has been adopted in the two other occurrences of the verb in this paragraph in vv. 11 and 13.

²⁰ tn Grk “and now also complete the doing.”

²¹ tn Grk “just as the eagerness to want [it].”

²² tn Grk “so also it might be completed.” The passive construction was converted to an active one in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

²³ tn Grk “completed from what you have.”

²⁴ tn Or “punish all disobedience.”

²⁵ tn Grk “a second grace,” “a second favor” (used figuratively of a second visit by Paul).

²⁶ tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit.”

sn Down payment. The Greek word ἀρραβών (arrabwn) denotes the first payment or first installment of money or goods which serves as a guarantee or pledge for the completion of the transaction. In the NT the term is used only figuratively of the Holy Spirit as the down payment of the blessings promised by God (it occurs later in 2 Cor 5:5, and also in Eph 1:14). In the “already – not yet” scheme of the NT the possession of the Spirit now by believers (“already”) can be viewed as a guarantee that God will give them the balance of the promised blessings in the future (“not yet”).

²⁷ tn Or “but for him who died and was raised for them.”

²⁸ tn Grk “old things have passed away.”

²⁹ 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.

³⁰ tn Grk “new things have come [about].”

³¹ tn Grk “you, and when.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.

³² tn If the participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") is taken as temporal rather than adjectival, the translation would be, “for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, fully supplied my needs” (similar to NASB).

³³ tn Grk “needs, and I kept.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.