2 Corinthians 1:12

Paul Defends His Changed Plans

1:12 For our reason for confidence ¹  is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives ²  and sincerity which are from God ³  – not by human wisdom ⁴  but by the grace of God – we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more ⁵  toward you.

2 Corinthians 5:12

5:12 We are not trying to commend ⁶  ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, ⁷  so that you may be able to answer those who take pride ⁸  in outward appearance ⁹  and not in what is in the heart.

2 Corinthians 6:16

6:16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are ¹⁰  the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them ¹¹  and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ¹² 

2 Corinthians 11:4

11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims ¹³  another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, ¹⁴  or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, ¹⁵  or a different gospel than the one you accepted, ¹⁶  you put up with it well enough! ¹⁷ 

---

¹ tn Or “for boasting.”

² tc Two viable variants exist at this place in the text: ἁγιότητι (Jagiothti, “holiness”) vs. ἁπλότητι (Japlothti, “pure motives”). A confusion of letters could well have produced the variant (TCGNT 507): In uncial script the words would have been written agiothti and aplothti. This, however, does not explain which reading created the other. Overall ἁπλότητι, though largely a Western-Byzantine reading (א² D F G Ï lat sy), is better suited to the context; it is also a Pauline word while ἁγιότης (Jagioth") is not. It also best explains the rise of the other variants, πραότητι (praothti, “gentleness”) and {σπλάγχνοις} (splancnoi", “compassion”). On the other hand, the external evidence in favor of ἁγιότητι is extremely strong (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C K P Ψ 0121 0243 33 81 1739 1881 al co). This diversity of mss provides excellent evidence for authenticity, but because of the internal evidence listed above, ἁπλότητι is to be preferred, albeit only slightly.

tn Or “sincerity.” The two terms translated “pure motives” (ἁπλότης, Japloth") and “sincerity” (εἰλικρίνεια, eilikrineia) are close synonyms.

³ tn Grk “pure motives and sincerity of God.”

⁴ tn Or “not by worldly wisdom.”

⁵ tn Or “and especially.”

⁶ tn The present tense of συνιστάνομεν (sunistanomen) has been translated as a conative present.

⁷ tn Or “to boast about us.”

⁸ tn Or “who boast.”

⁹ tn Or “in what is seen.”

¹⁰ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (Ì⁴⁶ א² C D² F G Ψ 0209 Ï lat sy Tert), read ὑμεῖς…ἐστε (Jumei"…este, “you are”) instead of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν (Jhmei"…esmen, “we are”) here, but several other early and important mss (א* B D* L P 0243 6 33 81 326 365 1175 1739 1881 2464 co Cl Or) have ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν. The external evidence is somewhat in favor of the first person pronoun and verb; the internal evidence weighs in even stronger. In light of the parallel in 1 Cor 3:16, where Paul uses ἐστε (“you are the temple of God”), as well as the surrounding context here in which the second person verb or pronoun is used in vv. 14, 17, and 18, the second person reading seems obviously motivated. The first person reading can explain the rise of the other reading, but the reverse is not as easily done. Consequently, the first person reading of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν has all the credentials of authenticity.

¹¹ tn Or “live among them,” “live with them.”

sn I will live in them. The OT text that lies behind this passage (Lev 26:11-12) speaks of God dwelling in the midst of his people. The Greek preposition en in the phrase en autoi" (“in them”) can also have that meaning (“among” or “with”). However, Paul appears to be extending the imagery here to involve God (as the Spirit) dwelling in his people, since he calls believers “the temple of the living God” in the previous clause, imagery he uses elsewhere in his writings (1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:21-22).

¹² sn A quotation from Lev 26:12; also similar to Jer 32:38; Ezek 37:27.

¹³ tn Or “preaches.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “a different spirit which you did not receive.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “a different gospel which you did not accept.”

¹⁷ tn Or “you endure it very well.”