2 Korintus 7:4

A Letter That Caused Sadness

7:4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride ¹  on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement; ²  I am overflowing with joy in the midst of ³  all our suffering.

2 Korintus 8:17

8:17 because he not only accepted our request, but since he was very eager, ⁴  he is coming ⁵  to you of his own accord. ⁶ 

2 Korintus 9:11

9:11 You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, ⁷  which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,

2 Korintus 1:13

1:13 For we do not write you anything other than what ⁸  you can read and also understand. But I hope that you will understand completely ⁹ 

2 Korintus 2:8

2:8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. ¹⁰ 

2 Korintus 5:9

5:9 So then whether we are alive ¹¹  or away, we make it our ambition to please him. ¹² 

2 Korintus 10:4

10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, ¹³  but are made powerful by God ¹⁴  for tearing down strongholds. ¹⁵  We tear down arguments ¹⁶ 

2 Korintus 10:6

10:6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, ¹⁷  whenever your obedience is complete.

2 Korintus 3:12

3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness, ¹⁸ 

2 Korintus 7:16

7:16 I rejoice because in everything I am fully confident in you.

2 Korintus 1:3

Thanksgiving for God’s Comfort

1:3 Blessed is ¹⁹  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

2 Korintus 6:4

6:4 But as God’s servants, ²⁰  we have commended ourselves in every way, ²¹  with great endurance, in persecutions, ²²  in difficulties, in distresses,

2 Korintus 13:3

13:3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He ²³  is not weak toward you but is powerful among you.

2 Korintus 3:11

3:11 For if what was made ineffective ²⁴  came with ²⁵  glory, how much more has what remains ²⁶  come in glory!

2 Korintus 10:3

10:3 For though we live ²⁷  as human beings, ²⁸  we do not wage war according to human standards, ²⁹ 

2 Korintus 1:14

1:14 just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours ³⁰  in the day of the Lord Jesus. ³¹ 

2 Korintus 2:15

2:15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing –

2 Korintus 3:9

3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, ³²  how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness ³³  excel ³⁴  in glory!

2 Korintus 4:7

An Eternal Weight of Glory

4:7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power ³⁵  belongs to God and does not come from us.

2 Korintus 4:17

4:17 For our momentary, light suffering ³⁶  is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison

2 Korintus 5:6

5:6 Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth ³⁷  we are absent from the Lord –

2 Korintus 6:6

6:6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit, ³⁸  by genuine ³⁹  love,

2 Korintus 7:5

7:5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our body ⁴⁰  had no rest at all, but we were troubled in every way – struggles from the outside, fears from within.

2 Korintus 7:15

7:15 And his affection for you is much greater ⁴¹  when he remembers the obedience of you all, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling.

2 Korintus 9:12

9:12 because the service of this ministry is not only providing for ⁴²  the needs of the saints but is also overflowing with many thanks to God.

2 Korintus 10:10

10:10 because some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is weak ⁴³  and his speech is of no account.” ⁴⁴ 

2 Korintus 11:17

11:17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence ⁴⁵  I do not say the way the Lord would. ⁴⁶  Instead it is, as it were, foolishness.

2 Korintus 12:12

12:12 Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance ⁴⁷  by signs and wonders and powerful deeds. ⁴⁸ 

2 Korintus 2:17

2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, ⁴⁹  but we are speaking in Christ before ⁵⁰  God as persons of sincerity, ⁵¹  as persons sent from God.

2 Korintus 5:11

The Message of Reconciliation

5:11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, ⁵²  we try to persuade ⁵³  people, ⁵⁴  but we are well known ⁵⁵  to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.

2 Korintus 8:9

8:9 For you know the grace ⁵⁶  of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.

2 Korintus 8:22

8:22 And we are sending ⁵⁷  with them our brother whom we have tested many times and found eager in many matters, but who now is much more eager than ever because of the great confidence he has in you.

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 ⁵⁸  – came with glory, so that the Israelites ⁵⁹  could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face ⁶⁰  (a glory ⁶¹  which was made ineffective), ⁶² 

[7:4]  ¹ tn Grk “great is my boasting.”

[7:4]  ² tn Or “comfort.”

[7:4]  ³ 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.

[8:17]  ⁴ tn The comparative form of this adjective is used here with elative meaning.

[8:17]  ⁵ tn This verb has been translated as an epistolary aorist.

[8:17]  ⁶ tn Or “of his own free will.”

[9:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “in every way for every generosity,” or “he will always make you rich enough to be generous at all times” (L&N 57.29).

[1:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “than the things.”

[1:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “to the end,” a Greek idiom for “fully,” “totally,” “completely.”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”

[5:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “whether we are at home” [in the body]; an idiom for being alive (L&N 23.91).

[5:9]  ¹² tn Grk “to be pleasing to him.”

[10:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “are not fleshly [weapons].” The repetition of the word “warfare” does not occur in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.

[10:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “but (are) divinely powerful,” “but they have divine power,” or “but are powerful for God’s [service]”; Grk “but are powerful to God.”

[10:4]  ¹⁵ sn Ultimately Paul is referring here to the false arguments of his opponents, calling them figuratively “strongholds.” This Greek word (ὀχύρωμα, ocurwma) is used only here in the NT.

[10:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “speculations.”

[10:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “punish all disobedience.”

[3:12]  ¹⁸ tn Or “we employ great openness of speech.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos) and the author’s intention at this point in the epistle must both come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response. When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the general Pauline style of beginning with statements and moving to obligations argues for the indicative. Cf. also Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[6:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “ministers.”

[6:4]  ²¹ tn Or “we have commended ourselves by all things.”

[6:4]  ²² tn Or “in trouble and suffering.”

[13:3]  ²³ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “what was fading away.” See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

[3:11]  ²⁵ tn Or “through” (διά, dia).

[3:11]  ²⁶ tn Or “what is permanent.”

[10:3]  ²⁷ tn Grk “we walk.”

[10:3]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[10:3]  ²⁹ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

[1:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “that we are your boast even as you are our boast.”

[1:14]  ³¹ tc ‡ On the wording “the Lord Jesus” (τοῦ κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ, tou kuriou Ihsou) there is some variation in the extant witnesses: ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “our”) is found after κυρίου in several significant witnesses (א B F G P 0121 0243 6 33 81 1739 1881 2464 al lat co); the pronoun is lacking from Ì^46vid A C D Ψ Ï. Although in Paul “our Lord Jesus Christ” is a common expression, “our Lord Jesus” is relatively infrequent (cf., e.g., Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 1:14; 1 Thess 2:19; 3:11, 13; 2 Thess 1:8, 12). “The Lord Jesus” occurs about as often as “our Lord Jesus” (cf. 1 Cor 11:23; 16:23; 2 Cor 4:14; 11:31; Eph 1:15; 1 Thess 4:2; 2 Thess 1:7; Phlm 5). Thus, on balance, since scribes would tend to expand on the text, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ places the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[3:9]  ³² tn Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.”

[3:9]  ³³ tn Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.”

[3:9]  ³⁴ tn Traditionally, “abound.”

[4:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the surpassingness of the power”; δυνάμεως (dunamew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (“extraordinary power”).

[4:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “momentary lightness of affliction.”

[5:6]  ³⁷ tn Grk “we know that being at home in the body”; an idiom for being alive (L&N 23.91).

[6:6]  ³⁸ tn Or “by holiness of spirit.”

[6:6]  ³⁹ tn Or “sincere.”

[7:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “our flesh.”

[7:15]  ⁴¹ tn Or “is all the more.”

[9:12]  ⁴² tn Or “not only supplying.”

[10:10]  ⁴³ tn Or “unimpressive.”

[10:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “is contemptible”; Grk “is despised.”

[11:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “with this confidence of boasting.” The genitive καυχήσεως (kauchsew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (the noun in the genitive gives an attribute of the noun modified).

[11:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “say with the Lord’s authority.”

[12:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “patience,” “endurance.”

[12:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “and miracles.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁹ tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kaphleuonte") refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed – “to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle…for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term.

[2:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “in the presence of.”

[2:17]  ⁵¹ tn Or “persons of pure motives.”

[5:11]  ⁵² tn Or “because we know what it means to fear the Lord.”

[5:11]  ⁵³ tn The present tense of πείθομεν (peiqomen) has been translated as a conative present.

[5:11]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is generic here since clearly both men and women are in view (Paul did not attempt to win only men to the gospel he preached).

[5:11]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “clearly evident.” BDAG 1048 s.v. φανερόω 2.b.β has “θεῷ πεφανερώμεθα we are well known to God 2 Cor 5:11a, cp. 11b; 11:6 v.l.”

[8:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “generosity.”

[8:22]  ⁵⁷ tn This verb has been translated as an epistolary aorist.

[3:7]  ⁵⁸ 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.

[3:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

[3:7]  ⁶⁰ 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).

[3:7]  ⁶¹ 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.

[3:7]  ⁶² 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.