2 Corinthians 2–3

Footnotes

1. 1 Although usually δέ (de, “now”; found in א A C D1 F G Ψ 0285 𝔐 lat) should take precedent over γάρ (gar) in textually disputed places in the corpus Paulinum, the credentials for γάρ here are not easily dismissed (𝔓46 B 0223 0243 33 1739 1881 ); here it is the preferred reading, albeit slightly.
2. 2 Or “I decided this for myself.”
3. 3 Grk “not to come to you again in sorrow.” Paul was not speaking absolutely about not making another visit, but meant he did not want to come to the Corinthians again until the conflict he mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4–11 was settled.
4. 4 Or “to cheer me up.” L&N 25.131 translates this “For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up?”
5. 5 The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
6. 6 So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.
7. 7 Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”
8. 8 Or “(not to say too much)”; Grk “(not to burden you [with words]).”
9. 9 Grk “so that on the other hand.”
10. 10 The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.
11. 11 Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
12. 12 Or “I urge you to show that your love for him is real.”
13. 13 The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied (as an understood direct object).
14. 14 Grk “to know the proof of you,” that is, to know if the Corinthians’ obedience to Paul as an apostle was genuine (L&N 72.7).
15. 15 Or “be taken advantage of.”
16. 16 Troas was a city and region in the northwest corner of Asia Minor.
17. 17 This has been translated as a concessive participle (“even though”). The passive construction (“a door of opportunity had been opened for me by the Lord”) has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity.
18. 18 Grk “a door”; the phrase ἀνοίγω θύραν (anoigō thuran, “to open a door”) is an idiom meaning “to make possible some opportunity” (L&N 71.9).
19. 19 Or “I had no peace of mind.”
20. 20 Or “I took my leave of them.”
21. 21 Since this refers to the outset of a journey, the aorist ἐξῆλθον (exēlthon) is taken ingressively.
22. 22 Or “who always causes us to triumph.”
23. 23 Or “in the Messiah.”
24. 24 Or “who reveals.”
25. 25 The same Greek word (ὀσμή, osmē) translated “odor” here (in relation to the stench of death) has been translated “fragrance” in 2:14 and in the next phrase of the present verse. The word itself can describe a smell or odor either agreeable or disagreeable depending on the context (L&N 79.45).
26. 26 These things refer to the things Paul is doing in his apostolic ministry.
27. 27 The participle καπηλεύοντες (kapēleuontes) refers to those engaged in retail business, but with the negative connotations of deceptiveness and greed—“to peddle for profit,” “to huckster” (L&N 57.202). In the translation a noun form (“hucksters”) has been used in combination with the English verb “peddle … for profit” to convey the negative connotations of this term.
28. 28 Or “in the presence of.”
29. 29 Or “persons of pure motives.”
30. 1 The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply (“No, we do not”) which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “do we?”
31. 2 That is, “letter of recommendation.”
32. 3 Or “making plain.”
33. 4 Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter ( διακονέω 1). Since the following phrase refers to the writing of the letter, and since the previous verse speaks of this “letter” being “written on our [Paul’s and his companions’] hearts” it is more probable that the phrase “cared for by us” refers to the delivery of the letter (in the person of Paul and his companions).
34. 5 An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10–11.
35. 6 Or “competent.”
36. 7 Or “competence.”
37. 8 Or “competent.”
38. 9 This new covenant is promised in Jer 31:31–34; 32:40.
39. 10 Grk “on stones”; but since this is clearly an allusion to the tablets of the Decalogue (see 2 Cor 3:3) the word “tablets” was supplied in the translation to make the connection clear.
40. 11 Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”
41. 12 The glory of his face. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Decalogue, the people were afraid to approach him because his face was so radiant (Exod 34:29–30).
42. 13 The words “a glory” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to “glory” has been repeated from the previous clause for clarity.
43. 14 Or “which was transitory.” Traditionally this phrase is translated as “which was fading away.” The verb καταργέω in the corpus Paulinum uniformly has the meaning “to render inoperative, ineffective”; the same nuance is appropriate here. The glory of Moses’ face was rendered ineffective by the veil Moses wore. For discussion of the meaning of this verb in this context, see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel ( 81), 301–13. A similar translation has been adopted in the two other occurrences of the verb in this paragraph in vv. 11 and 13.
44. 15 Grk “how will not rather the ministry of the Spirit be with glory?”
45. 16 Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.”
46. 17 Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.”
47. 18 Traditionally, “abound.”
48. 19 Grk “in this case.”
49. 20 The words “of what replaced it” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning.
50. 21 Or “what was fading away.” See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. .
51. 22 Or “through” (διά, dia).
52. 23 Or “what is permanent.”
53. 24 Or “we employ great openness of speech.”
54. 25 Grk “the sons of Israel.”
55. 26 Or “from gazing intently.”
56. 27 Or “end.” The word τέλος (telos) can mean both “a point of time marking the end of a duration, end, termination, cessation” and “the goal toward which a movement is being directed, end, goal, outcome” (see ). The translation accepts the interpretation that Moses covered the glory of his face with the veil to prevent Israel from being judged by the glory of God (see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel [ 81], 347–62); in this case the latter meaning for τέλος is more appropriate.
57. 28 Or “was fading away”; Grk “on the result of what was made ineffective.” The referent (glory) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. .
58. 29 Grk “their minds were hardened.”
59. 30 Grk “the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant”; the phrase “they hear” has been introduced (“when they hear the old covenant read”) to make the link with the “Israelites” (v. 13) whose minds were closed (v. 14a) more obvious to the reader.
60. 31 Or “only in Christ is it eliminated.”
61. 32 Grk “their heart.”
62. 33 Or perhaps “when(ever) he turns,” referring to Moses.
63. 34 An allusion to Exod 34:34. The entire verse may refer to Moses, viewing him as a type portraying the Jewish convert to Christianity in Paul’s day.
64. 35 Grk “where the Spirit of the Lord is”; the word “present” is supplied to specify that the presence of the Lord’s Spirit is emphasized rather than the mere existence of the Lord’s Spirit.
65. 36 Or “we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.”
66. 37 Grk “from glory to glory.”
67. 38 Grk “just as from.”
68. 39 Grk “from the Lord, the Spirit”; the genitive πνεύματος (pneumatos) has been translated as a genitive of apposition.