Verses 13-14 form one long complex sentence in Greek. Good News Translation changes the order of the phrases in verse 13 and makes two sentences of the one Greek sentence, making the verse easier to follow in English.

The first part of this verse is literally “having the same spirit of faith according to what is written.” Though it is possible to understand the comparison to be between Paul and the Corinthians, who have the same spirit of faith, Revised Standard Version is probably correct in making the comparison between Paul and the psalmist.

Translators are ill advised, in some languages, to translate literally the Good News Translation rendering “The scripture says….” It will be much better to say “Someone has said in scripture” or “In scripture someone has written….”

The same spirit of faith: most translations spell “spirit” with a small letter “s” (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, and New International Version). According to this interpretation “spirit” refers not to the Holy Spirit but to the human attitude or disposition reflecting the way one thinks about something. It is possible, though, that Paul is referring to the Holy Spirit, who creates faith: “But since we have the same Spirit of faith” (Barrett; so also Anchor Bible).

As he had who wrote introduces a quotation from the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament in Psa 116.10. In this passage the immediately preceding verses speak of the psalmist’s deliverance from suffering and death, words with which Paul identified. Good News Translation makes explicit that this quotation is from “the scripture” (also Revised English Bible). Some translations (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, God’s New Covenant, New Jerusalem Bible) place direct citations from the Old Testament in bold font or in italics to indicate to the reader that Paul’s thought and expression are influenced by the Scriptures.

I believed … we too believe: the Greek has no object for these verbs. Languages that require an object may add the noun “God” or the noun phrase “God’s promises.”

So: this connecting word occurs twice in Revised Standard Version to show the relationship between belief and speaking. New International Version uses “therefore.” And it has been translated in Bible en français courant and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible as “this is why….”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .