2 Korintus 7:9

7:9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad, ¹  but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended, ²  so that you were not harmed ³  in any way by us.

2 Korintus 12:19

12:19 Have you been thinking all this time ⁴  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. ⁵ 

[7:9]  ¹ tn Grk “were grieved” (so also twice later in the verse).

[7:9]  ² tn Grk “corresponding to God,” that is, corresponding to God’s will (κατὰ θεόν, kata qeon). The same phrase occurs in vv. 10 and 11.

[7:9]  ³ tn Grk “so that you did not suffer loss.”

[12:19]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “for your strengthening”; Grk “for your edification.”