2 Corinthians 2:3

2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, ¹  so that when I came ²  I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours.

2 Corinthians 2:7

2:7 so that now instead ³  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ⁴  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ⁵ 

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¹ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

² sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.

³ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

⁴ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.

⁵ tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.