¹ tn That is, to Christ.

² tn Or “chaste.”

³ tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”

⁴ tn Or “the snake.”

⁵ tn Or “craftiness.”

⁶ tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”

⁷ tc Although most mss (א² H Ψ 0121 0243 1739 1881 Ï) lack “and pure” (καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, kai th" Jagnothto"; Grk “and purity”) several important and early witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B D^[2] F G 33 81 104 pc ar r co) retain these words. Their presence in such mss across such a wide geographical distribution argues for their authenticity. The omission from the majority of mss can be explained by haplography, since the -τητος ending of ἁγνότητος is identical to the ending of ἁπλότητος (Japlothto", “sincerity”) three words back (ἁπλότητος καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος); further, since the meanings of “sincerity” and “purity” are similar they might seem redundant. A copyist would scarcely notice the omission because Paul’s statement still makes sense without “and from purity.”

⁸ tn Grk “with this confidence of boasting.” The genitive καυχήσεως (kauchsew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (the noun in the genitive gives an attribute of the noun modified).

⁹ tn Or “say with the Lord’s authority.”

¹⁰ tn The word “visit” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

¹¹ tn Grk “By the mouth.”

¹² sn A quotation from Deut 19:15 (also quoted in Matt 18:16; 1 Tim 5:19).