2 Corinthians 1:9

1:9 Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us,¹ so that we would not trust in ourselves² but in God who raises the dead.

2 Corinthians 5:1

Living by Faith, Not by Sight

5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in,³ is dismantled,⁴ we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.

2 Corinthians 7:8

7:8 For even if I made you sad⁵ by my letter,⁶ I do not regret having written it⁷ (even though I did regret it,⁸ for⁹ I see that my letter made you sad,¹⁰ though only for a short time).

2 Corinthians 7:14

7:14 For if I have boasted to him about anything concerning you, I have not been embarrassed by you,¹¹ but just as everything we said to you was true,¹² so our boasting to Titus about you¹³ has proved true as well.

2 Corinthians 9:4

9:4 For if any of the Macedonians should come with me and find that you are not ready to give, we would be humiliated¹⁴ (not to mention you) by this confidence we had in you.¹⁵

2 Corinthians 10:7-8

10:7 You are looking at outward appearances.¹⁶ If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we. 10:8 For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us¹⁷ for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so.¹⁸

2 Corinthians 11:6

11:6 And even if I am unskilled¹⁹ in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way.

2 Corinthians 11:16

Paul’s Sufferings for Christ

11:16 I say again, let no one think that I am a fool.²⁰ But if you do, then at least accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

2 Corinthians 13:2

13:2 I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone,²¹

2 Corinthians 13:5

13:5 Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you – unless, indeed, you fail the test!²²

¹tn 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).

²tn Or “might not put confidence in ourselves.”

³sn 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.

⁴tn Or “destroyed.”

⁵tn Grk “if I grieved you.”

⁶sn My letter. Paul is referring to the “severe” letter mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4.

⁷tn Grk “I do not regret”; direct objects in Greek must often be supplied from the context. Here one could simply supply “it,” but since Paul is referring to the effects of his previous letter, clarity is improved if “having written it” is supplied.

⁸tn Grk “I did regret”; the direct object “it” must be supplied from the context.

⁹tc A few important mss (Ì^46c B D* it sa) lack γάρ (gar, “for”), while the majority of witnesses have it (א C D¹ F G Ψ 0243 33 1739 1881 Ï sy bo). Even though Ì^46* omits γάρ, it has the same sense (viz., a subordinate clause) because it reads the participle βλέπων (blepwn, “seeing”; the Vulgate does the same). A decision is difficult because although the overwhelming external evidence is on the side of the conjunction, the lack of γάρ is a significantly harder reading, for the whole clause is something of an anacoluthon. Without the conjunction, the sentence reads more harshly. This would fit with Paul’s “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 435) that is found especially in 2 Corinthians and Galatians. However, the mss that omit the conjunction are prone to such tendencies at times. In this instance, the conjunction should probably stand.

¹⁰tn Grk “my letter grieved you.”

¹¹tn Grk “I have not been put to shame”; the words “by you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

¹²tn Grk “just as we spoke everything to you in truth.”

¹³tn The words “about you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

¹⁴tn Or “be disgraced”; Grk “be put to shame.”

¹⁵tn Grk “by this confidence”; the words “we had in you” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied as a necessary clarification for the English reader.

¹⁶tn The phrase is close to a recognized idiom for judging based on outward appearances (L&N 30.120). Some translators see a distinction, however, and translate 2 Cor 10:7a as “Look at what is in front of your eyes,” that is, the obvious facts of the case (so NRSV).

¹⁷tn The word “us” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Indirect objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the modern English reader.

¹⁸tn Grk “I will not be put to shame,” “I will not be ashamed.” The words “of doing so” are supplied to clarify for the reader that Paul will not be ashamed of boasting somewhat more about the authority the Lord gave him (beginning of v. 8).

¹⁹sn Unskilled in speaking means not professionally trained as a rhetorician.

²⁰tn Or “am foolish.”

²¹tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

²²tn Or “unless indeed you are disqualified.”