2 Corinthians 3:3

3:3 revealing ¹  that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, ²  written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets ³  but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 4:6

4:6 For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” ⁴  is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge ⁵  of God in the face of Christ. ⁶ 

2 Corinthians 7:3

7:3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I told you before ⁷  that you are in our hearts so that we die together and live together with you. ⁸ 

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¹ tn Or “making plain.”

² 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).

³ sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11.

⁴ sn An allusion to Gen 1:3; see also Isa 9:2.

⁵ tn Grk “the light of the knowledge of the glory”; δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

⁶ tc ‡ Most witnesses, including several early and important ones (Ì⁴⁶ א C H Ψ 0209 1739^c Ï sy), read ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ihsou Cristou, “Jesus Christ”), while other important witnesses, especially of the Western text (D F G 0243 630 1739* 1881 lat Ambst), have Χριστοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ. The reading with just Χριστοῦ is found in A B 33 {sa} Tert {Or Ath Chr}. Even though the witnesses for the shorter reading are not numerous, they are weighty. And in light of the natural scribal proclivity to fill out the text, particularly with reference to divine names, as well as the discrepancy among the witnesses as to the order of the names, the simple reading Χριστοῦ seems to be the best candidate for authenticity. NA²⁷ reads ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ with ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

⁷ sn See 2 Cor 1:4-7.

⁸ tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.