Many translations begin a new paragraph with verse 6. And New Jerusalem Bible has a section heading at this point. It reads “Blessings to be expected from the collection.” Verses 6-11 provide one motive for giving, that is, God will bless the giver; and verses 12-15 provide a second motive, God will be glorified.

The point is this: literally “but this.” The Greek words indicate that what follows is a summary of what he has already written concerning the matter of giving. Some may wish to translate “What I am trying to say is this….” Contemporary English Version highlights the fact that what follows seems to have been a well-known adage that was perhaps frequently quoted in Paul’s day: “remember this saying….” The words are set off in poetic format and enclosed in quotation marks. However, we do not know the source of the saying.

He who sows … he who sows: these two participles are masculine in Greek, but since Paul does not seem to be referring exclusively to men, translators may wish to use inclusive terms as in Good News Translation or New Revised Standard Version (“the one who sows”). Contemporary English Version says “A few seeds make a small harvest, but a lot of seeds make a big harvest.” In some languages it will be more natural to make the subject both human and plural: “people who plant only a few seeds will gather in only a little food, but those people who plant many seeds will gather in much food.”

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 .