2 Korintus 4:7-12

An Eternal Weight of Glory

4:7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power ¹  belongs to God and does not come from us. 4:8 We are experiencing trouble on every side, ²  but are not crushed; we are perplexed, ³  but not driven to despair; 4:9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned; ⁴  we are knocked down, ⁵  but not destroyed, 4:10 always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, ⁶  so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible ⁷  in our body. 4:11 For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible ⁸  in our mortal body. ⁹  4:12 As a result, ¹⁰  death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. ¹¹ 

2 Korintus 6:4-10

6:4 But as God’s servants, ¹²  we have commended ourselves in every way, ¹³  with great endurance, in persecutions, ¹⁴  in difficulties, in distresses, 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, ¹⁵  in troubles, ¹⁶  in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6:6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit, ¹⁷  by genuine ¹⁸  love, 6:7 by truthful ¹⁹  teaching, ²⁰  by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left, ²¹  6:8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors, ²²  and yet true; 6:9 as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet – see! – we continue to live; as those who are scourged ²³  and yet not executed; 6:10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

2 Korintus 11:23-28

11:23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times. 11:24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one. ²⁴  11:25 Three times I was beaten with a rod. ²⁵  Once I received a stoning. ²⁶  Three times I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I spent adrift in the open sea. 11:26 I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, ²⁷  in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, ²⁸  in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers, 11:27 in hard work and toil, ²⁹  through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing. ³⁰  11:28 Apart from other things, ³¹  there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern ³²  for all the churches.

[4:7]  ¹ tn Grk “the surpassingness of the power”; δυνάμεως (dunamew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (“extraordinary power”).

[4:8]  ² tn Grk “we are hard pressed [by crowds] on every side.”

[4:8]  ³ tn Or “at a loss.”

[4:9]  ⁴ tn Or “forsaken.”

[4:9]  ⁵ tn Or “badly hurt.” It is possible to interpret καταβαλλόμενοι (kataballomenoi) here as “badly hurt”: “[we are] badly hurt, but not destroyed” (L&N 20.21).

[4:10]  ⁶ tn The first clause of 2 Cor 4:10 is elliptical and apparently refers to the fact that Paul was constantly in danger of dying in the same way Jesus died (by violence at least). According to L&N 23.99 it could be translated, “at all times we live in the constant threat of being killed as Jesus was.”

[4:10]  ⁷ tn Or “may also be revealed.”

[4:11]  ⁸ tn Or “may also be revealed.”

[4:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “mortal flesh.”

[4:12]  ¹⁰ tn Or “So then.”

[4:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “death is at work in us, but life in you”; the phrase “is at work in” is repeated in the translation for clarity.

[6:4]  ¹² tn Or “ministers.”

[6:4]  ¹³ tn Or “we have commended ourselves by all things.”

[6:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “in trouble and suffering.”

[6:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “rebellions” (uprisings in open defiance of civil authority).

[6:5]  ¹⁶ tn Usually κόποις (kopois) has been translated as “labors” or “hard work,” but see Matt 26:10 where it means “trouble”; “distress” (L&N 22.7). In this context with so many other terms denoting suffering and difficulty, such a meaning is preferable.

[6:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “by holiness of spirit.”

[6:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “sincere.”

[6:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “by the word of truth”; understanding ἀληθείας (alhqeias) as an attributive genitive (“truthful word”).

[6:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “speech.” In this context it is more likely that λόγος (logos) refers to Paul’s message (thus “teaching”) than to his speech in general.

[6:7]  ²¹ tn The phrase “for the right hand and for the left” possibly refers to a combination of an offensive weapon (a sword for the right hand) and a defensive weapon (a shield for the left).

[6:8]  ²² tn Or “regarded as deceivers.”

[6:9]  ²³ tn Grk “disciplined,” but in this context probably a reference to scourging prior to execution (yet the execution is not carried out).

[11:24]  ²⁴ tn Grk “forty less one”; this was a standard sentence. “Lashes” is supplied to clarify for the modern reader what is meant.

[11:25]  ²⁵ sn Beaten with a rod refers to the Roman punishment of admonitio according to BDAG 902 s.v. ῥαβδίζω. Acts 16:22 describes one of these occasions in Philippi; in this case it was administered by the city magistrates, who had wide powers in a military colony.

[11:25]  ²⁶ sn Received a stoning. See Acts 14:19, where this incident is described.

[11:26]  ²⁷ tn Or “bandits.” The word normally refers more to highwaymen (“robbers”) but can also refer to insurrectionists or revolutionaries (“bandits”).

[11:26]  ²⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[11:27]  ²⁹ tn The two different words for labor are translated “in hard work and toil” by L&N 42.48.

[11:27]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in cold and nakedness.” Paul does not mean complete nakedness, however, which would have been repugnant to a Jew; he refers instead to the lack of sufficient clothing, especially in cold weather. A related word is used to 1 Cor 4:11, also in combination with experiencing hunger and thirst.

[11:28]  ³¹ sn Apart from other things. Paul refers here either (1) to the external sufferings just mentioned, or (2) he refers to other things he has left unmentioned.

[11:28]  ³² tn “Anxious concern,” so translated in L&N 25.224.