2 Corinthians 2:17
Context2:17 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 11:6
Context11:6 And even if I am unskilled 4 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 11:21
Context11:21 (To my disgrace 5 I must say that we were too weak for that!) 6 But whatever anyone else dares to boast about 7 (I am speaking foolishly), I also dare to boast about the same thing. 8
2 Corinthians 12:19
Context12:19 Have you been thinking all this time 9 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. 10
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 sn Unskilled in speaking means not professionally trained as a rhetorician.
5 tn Or “my shame.”
6 sn It seems best, in context, to see the statement we were too weak for that as a parenthetical and ironic comment by Paul on his physical condition (weakness or sickness) while he was with the Corinthians (cf. 2 Cor 12:7-10; Gal 4:15).
7 tn The words “to boast about” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and this phrase serves as the direct object of the preceding verb.
8 tn Grk “I also dare”; the words “to boast about the same thing” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and this phrase serves as the direct object of the preceding verb.
9 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.
10 tn Or “for your strengthening”; Grk “for your edification.”