2 Korintus 5:11--6:10

The Message of Reconciliation

5:11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, ¹  we try to persuade ²  people, ³  but we are well known ⁴  to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too. 5:12 We are not trying to commend ⁵  ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, ⁶  so that you may be able to answer those who take pride ⁷  in outward appearance ⁸  and not in what is in the heart. 5:13 For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 5:14 For the love of Christ ⁹  controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ ¹⁰  died for all; therefore all have died. 5:15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised. ¹¹  5:16 So then from now on we acknowledge ¹²  no one from an outward human point of view. ¹³  Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, ¹⁴  now we do not know him in that way any longer. 5:17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away ¹⁵  – look, what is new ¹⁶  has come! ¹⁷  5:18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 5:19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us ¹⁸  the message of reconciliation. 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea ¹⁹  through us. We plead with you ²⁰  on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 5:21 God ²¹  made the one who did not know sin ²²  to be sin for us, so that in him ²³  we would become the righteousness of God.

God’s Suffering Servants

6:1 Now because we are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ²⁴  6:2 For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” ²⁵  Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation! 6:3 We do not give anyone ²⁶  an occasion for taking an offense in anything, ²⁷  so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 6:4 But as God’s servants, ²⁸  we have commended ourselves in every way, ²⁹  with great endurance, in persecutions, ³⁰  in difficulties, in distresses, 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, ³¹  in troubles, ³²  in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6:6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit, ³³  by genuine ³⁴  love, 6:7 by truthful ³⁵  teaching, ³⁶  by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left, ³⁷  6:8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors, ³⁸  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 ³⁹  and yet not executed; 6:10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

[5:11]  ¹ tn Or “because we know what it means to fear the Lord.”

[5:11]  ² tn The present tense of πείθομεν (peiqomen) has been translated as a conative present.

[5:11]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.”

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

[5:12]  ⁶ tn Or “to boast about us.”

[5:12]  ⁷ tn Or “who boast.”

[5:12]  ⁸ tn Or “in what is seen.”

[5:14]  ⁹ tn The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ (Jh agaph tou Cristou, “the love of Christ”) could be translated as either objective genitive (“our love for Christ”) or subjective genitive (“Christ’s love for us”). Either is grammatically possible, but with the reference to Christ’s death for all in the following clauses, a subjective genitive (“Christ’s love for us”) is more likely.

[5:14]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “one”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “but for him who died and was raised for them.”

[5:16]  ¹² tn Grk “we know.”

[5:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “no one according to the flesh.”

[5:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “we have known Christ according to the flesh.”

[5:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “old things have passed away.”

[5:17]  ¹⁶ tc Most mss have the words τὰ πάντα (ta panta, “all things”; cf. KJV “behold, all things are become new”), some after καίνα (kaina, “new”; D² K L P Ψ 104 326 945 2464 pm) and others before it (6 33 81 614 630 1241 1505 1881 pm). The reading without τὰ πάντα, however, has excellent support from both the Western and Alexandrian texttypes (Ì⁴⁶ א B C D* F G 048 0243 365 629 1175 1739 pc co), and the different word order of the phrase which includes it (“all things new” or “new all things”) in the ms tradition indicates its secondary character. This secondary addition may have taken place because of assimilation to τὰ δὲ πάντα (ta de panta, “and all [these] things”) that begins the following verse.

[5:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “new things have come [about].”

[5:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “he has entrusted to us.”

[5:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “as though God were begging.”

[5:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “we beg you.”

[5:21]  ²¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:21]  ²² sn The one who did not know sin is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[5:21]  ²³ sn That is, “in Christ.”

[6:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “receive the grace of God uselessly.”

[6:2]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 49:8.

[6:3]  ²⁶ tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[6:3]  ²⁷ tn Other interpretations of the first part of 2 Cor 6:3 are possible. The phrase could also mean, “not putting an obstacle in the way of anyone” (L&N 22.14), or “giving no one in anything a cause to sin” (L&N 88.307).

[6:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “ministers.”

[6:4]  ²⁹ tn Or “we have commended ourselves by all things.”

[6:4]  ³⁰ tn Or “in trouble and suffering.”

[6:5]  ³¹ tn Or “rebellions” (uprisings in open defiance of civil authority).

[6:5]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Or “by holiness of spirit.”

[6:6]  ³⁴ tn Or “sincere.”

[6:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “by the word of truth”; understanding ἀληθείας (alhqeias) as an attributive genitive (“truthful word”).

[6:7]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ tn Or “regarded as deceivers.”

[6:9]  ³⁹ tn Grk “disciplined,” but in this context probably a reference to scourging prior to execution (yet the execution is not carried out).