2 Korintus 5:12

5:12 We are not trying to commend ¹  ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, ²  so that you may be able to answer those who take pride ³  in outward appearance ⁴  and not in what is in the heart.

2 Korintus 7:7-8

7:7 We were encouraged ⁵  not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement ⁶  you gave ⁷  him, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, ⁸  your deep concern ⁹  for me, so that I rejoiced more than ever. 7:8 For even if I made you sad ¹⁰  by my letter, ¹¹  I do not regret having written it ¹²  (even though I did regret it, ¹³  for ¹⁴  I see that my letter made you sad, ¹⁵  though only for a short time).

2 Korintus 10:7

10:7 You are looking at outward appearances. ¹⁶  If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we.

2 Korintus 12:10

12:10 Therefore I am content with ¹⁷  weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties ¹⁸  for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Korintus 12:18-19

12:18 I urged Titus to visit you ¹⁹  and I sent our ²⁰  brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? ²¹  Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way? ²²  12:19 Have you been thinking all this time ²³  that we have been defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and everything we do, dear friends, is to build you up. ²⁴ 

[5:12]  ¹ tn The present tense of συνιστάνομεν (sunistanomen) has been translated as a conative present.

[5:12]  ² tn Or “to boast about us.”

[5:12]  ³ tn Or “who boast.”

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Or “in what is seen.”

[7:7]  ⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “We were encouraged.”

[7:7]  ⁶ tn Or “comfort,” “consolation.”

[7:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “by the encouragement with which he was encouraged by you.” The passive construction was translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the repeated word “encouraged” was replaced in the translation by “gave” to avoid redundancy in the translation.

[7:7]  ⁸ tn Or “your grieving,” “your deep sorrow.”

[7:7]  ⁹ tn Or “your zeal.”

[7:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “if I grieved you.”

[7:8]  ¹¹ sn My letter. Paul is referring to the “severe” letter mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4.

[7:8]  ¹² tn Grk “I do not regret”; direct objects in Greek must often be supplied from the context. Here one could simply supply “it,” but since Paul is referring to the effects of his previous letter, clarity is improved if “having written it” is supplied.

[7:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “I did regret”; the direct object “it” must be supplied from the context.

[7:8]  ¹⁴ tc A few important mss (Ì^46c B D* it sa) lack γάρ (gar, “for”), while the majority of witnesses have it (א C D¹ F G Ψ 0243 33 1739 1881 Ï sy bo). Even though Ì^46* omits γάρ, it has the same sense (viz., a subordinate clause) because it reads the participle βλέπων (blepwn, “seeing”; the Vulgate does the same). A decision is difficult because although the overwhelming external evidence is on the side of the conjunction, the lack of γάρ is a significantly harder reading, for the whole clause is something of an anacoluthon. Without the conjunction, the sentence reads more harshly. This would fit with Paul’s “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 435) that is found especially in 2 Corinthians and Galatians. However, the mss that omit the conjunction are prone to such tendencies at times. In this instance, the conjunction should probably stand.

[7:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “my letter grieved you.”

[10:7]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase is close to a recognized idiom for judging based on outward appearances (L&N 30.120). Some translators see a distinction, however, and translate 2 Cor 10:7a as “Look at what is in front of your eyes,” that is, the obvious facts of the case (so NRSV).

[12:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I take delight in.”

[12:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “calamities.”

[12:18]  ¹⁹ tn The words “to visit you” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the modern reader.

[12:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the.”

[12:18]  ²¹ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer, indicated by the ‘tag’ question “did he?” at the end of the clause.

[12:18]  ²² tn Grk “[Did we not walk] in the same tracks?” This is an idiom that means to imitate someone else or to behave as they do. Paul’s point is that he and Titus have conducted themselves in the same way toward the Corinthians. If Titus did not take advantage of the Corinthians, then neither did Paul.

[12:19]  ²³ tc The reading “all this time” (πάλαι, palai) is found in several early and important Alexandrian and Western witnesses including א* A B F G 0243 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 1881 lat; the reading πάλιν (palin, “again”) is read by א² D Ψ 0278 Ï sy bo; the reading οὐ πάλαι (ou palai) is read by Ì⁴⁶, making the question even more emphatic. The reading of Ì⁴⁶ could only have arisen from πάλαι. The reading πάλιν is significantly easier (“are you once again thinking that we are defending ourselves?”), for it softens Paul’s tone considerably. It thus seems to be a motivated reading and cannot easily explain the rise of πάλαι. Further, πάλαι has considerable support in the Alexandrian and Western witnesses, rendering it virtually certain as the original wording here.

[12:19]  ²⁴ tn Or “for your strengthening”; Grk “for your edification.”