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 9:5

9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you in advance and to arrange ahead of time the generous contribution ⁵  you had promised, so this may be ready as a generous gift ⁶  and not as something you feel forced to do. ⁷ 

2 Korintus 12:19

12:19 Have you been thinking all this time ⁸  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. ⁹ 

[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.”

[9:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “the blessing.”

[9:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “a blessing.”

[9:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “as a covetousness”; that is, a gift given grudgingly or under compulsion.

[12:19]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “for your strengthening”; Grk “for your edification.”