2 Corinthians 2:17

2:17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, ¹  but we are speaking in Christ before ²  God as persons of sincerity, ³  as persons sent from God.

2 Corinthians 4:2

4:2 But we have rejected ⁴  shameful hidden deeds, ⁵  not behaving ⁶  with deceptiveness ⁷  or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.

2 Corinthians 5:10

5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ⁸  so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. ⁹ 

2 Corinthians 7:3

7:3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I told you before ¹⁰  that you are in our hearts so that we die together and live together with you. ¹¹ 

2 Corinthians 7:12

7:12 So then, even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong, or on account of the one who was wronged, but to reveal to you your eagerness on our behalf ¹²  before God.

2 Corinthians 12:19

12:19 Have you been thinking all this time ¹³  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. ¹⁴ 

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, ¹⁵ 

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¹ tn The participle καπηλεύοντες (kaphleuonte") 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.

² tn Or “in the presence of.”

³ tn Or “persons of pure motives.”

⁴ tn L&N 13.156; the word can also mean “to assert opposition to,” thus here “we have denounced” (L&N 33.220).

⁵ tn Grk “the hidden things [deeds] of shame”; here αἰσχύνης (aiscunh") has been translated as an attributive genitive.

⁶ tn Or “not conducting ourselves”; Grk “not walking” (a common NT idiom for conduct, way of life, or behavior).

⁷ tn Or “craftiness.”

⁸ sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a common item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city. Use of the term in reference to Christ’s judgment would be familiar to Paul’s 1st century readers.

⁹ tn Or “whether good or bad.”

¹⁰ sn See 2 Cor 1:4-7.

¹¹ tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

¹² tn Grk “but in order that your eagerness on our behalf might be revealed to you.”

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ tn Or “for your strengthening”; Grk “for your edification.”

¹⁵ tn The word “anyone” is not in the Greek text but is implied.