2:14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession 7 in Christ 8 and who makes known 9 through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place.
5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, 15 is dismantled, 16 we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.
5:11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, 17 we try to persuade 18 people, 19 but we are well known 20 to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.
7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves 22 from everything that could defile the body 23 and the spirit, and thus accomplish 24 holiness out of reverence for God. 25
1 tn Or “our trials”; traditionally, “our affliction.” The term θλῖψις (qliyi") refers to trouble (including persecution) that involves direct suffering (L&N 22.2).
2 tn Or “any trials”; traditionally, “any affliction.”
3 tn Grk “we ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves.” Here ἀπόκριμα (apokrima) is being used figuratively; no actual official verdict had been given, but in light of all the difficulties that Paul and his colleagues had suffered, it seemed to them as though such an official verdict had been rendered against them (L&N 56.26).
4 tn Or “might not put confidence in ourselves.”
5 tn Grk “so that thanks may be given by many.” The words “to God” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The passive construction has been converted to an active one for clarity, in keeping with contemporary English style.
6 sn Silvanus is usually considered to be the same person as Silas (L&N 93.340).
7 tn Or “who always causes us to triumph.”
8 tn Or “in the Messiah.”
9 tn Or “who reveals.”
10 tn Or “making plain.”
11 tn Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter (BDAG 229 s.v. 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).
12 sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11.
13 tn Or “that is abounding to.”
14 tn Or “to abound.”
15 sn The expression the tent we live in refers to “our earthly house, our body.” Paul uses the metaphor of the physical body as a house or tent, the residence of the immaterial part of a person.
16 tn Or “destroyed.”
17 tn Or “because we know what it means to fear the Lord.”
18 tn The present tense of πείθομεν (peiqomen) has been translated as a conative present.
19 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).
20 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.”
21 tn Or “he has entrusted to us.”
22 tn Or “purify ourselves.”
23 tn Grk “from every defilement of the flesh.”
24 tn Grk “accomplishing.” The participle has been translated as a finite verb due to considerations of contemporary English style, and “thus” has been supplied to indicate that it represents a result of the previous cleansing.
25 tn Grk “in the fear of God.”
26 tn Grk “were grieved” (so also twice later in the verse).
27 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.
28 tn Grk “so that you did not suffer loss.”
29 tn Grk “but in order that your eagerness on our behalf might be revealed to you.”
30 tn Or “abound.”
31 tn Or “so that by having enough.” The Greek participle can be translated as a participle of cause (“because you have enough”) or means (“by having enough”).
32 tn Or “abound.”
33 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 tn Or “proof,” or perhaps “testing” (NRSV).
35 tn Or “ministry.”
36 tn Or “your partnership”; Grk “your fellowship.”
37 tn Or “boast excessively.” The phrase εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα (ei" ta ametra) is an idiom; literally it means “into that which is not measured,” that is, a point on a scale that goes beyond what might be expected (L&N 78.27).
38 tn The words “will confine our boasting” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to boasting must be repeated from the previous clause to clarify for the modern reader what is being limited.
39 tn Grk “according to the measure of the rule which God has apportioned to us as a measure”; for the translation used in the text see L&N 37.100.
40 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.
41 tn Or “for your strengthening”; Grk “for your edification.”