2 Corinthians 5:9

5:9 So then whether we are alive ¹  or away, we make it our ambition to please him. ² 

2 Corinthians 6:5

6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, ³  in troubles, ⁴  in sleepless nights, in hunger,

2 Corinthians 10:15

10:15 Nor do we boast beyond certain limits ⁵  in the work ⁶  done by others, but we hope ⁷  that as your faith continues to grow, our work may be greatly expanded ⁸  among you according to our limits, ⁹ 

2 Corinthians 11:23

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.

[5:9]  ¹ tn Grk “whether we are at home” [in the body]; an idiom for being alive (L&N 23.91).

[5:9]  ² tn Grk “to be pleasing to him.”

[6:5]  ³ tn Or “rebellions” (uprisings in open defiance of civil authority).

[6:5]  ⁴ 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.

[10:15]  ⁵ tn Or “boast excessively.” The phrase εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα (ei" ta ametra) is an idiom; literally it means “into that which is not measured,” that is, a point on a scale that goes beyond what might be expected (L&N 78.27).

[10:15]  ⁶ tn Or “in the labors.”

[10:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “but we have the hope.”

[10:15]  ⁸ tn Or “greatly enlarged.”

[10:15]  ⁹ tn That is, Paul’s work might be greatly expanded within the area of activity assigned to him by God.