2 Korintus 2:4

2:4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you. ¹ 

2 Korintus 4:4

4:4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe ²  so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel ³  of Christ, ⁴  who is the image of God.

2 Korintus 7:8

7:8 For even if I made you sad ⁵  by my letter, ⁶  I do not regret having written it ⁷  (even though I did regret it, ⁸  for ⁹  I see that my letter made you sad, ¹⁰  though only for a short time).

2 Korintus 9:4

9:4 For if any of the Macedonians should come with me and find that you are not ready to give, we would be humiliated ¹¹  (not to mention you) by this confidence we had in you. ¹² 

2 Korintus 10:7

10:7 You are looking at outward appearances. ¹³  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.

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”

[4:4]  ² tn Or “of unbelievers.”

[4:4]  ³ tn Grk “the gospel of the glory”; δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[4:4]  ⁴ tn Or “so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ would not be evident to them” (L&N 28.37).

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Grk “if I grieved you.”

[7:8]  ⁶ sn My letter. Paul is referring to the “severe” letter mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4.

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

[7:8]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “my letter grieved you.”

[9:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “be disgraced”; Grk “be put to shame.”

[9:4]  ¹² tn Grk “by this confidence”; the words “we had in you” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied as a necessary clarification for the English reader.

[10:7]  ¹³ 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).