I would not seem to be frightening you: as the Good News Translation rendering indicates, this is no tentative observation on the part of Paul. Rather it shows clearly that he wanted to avoid any appearance of trying to cause fear in the Corinthians by writing letters. New Revised Standard Version says “I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters.” Another model is “I do not want you to get the idea that I am the kind of person who would try to scare you…” (Barclay).

As verse 10 makes clear, letters are letters from Paul sent to the Corinthians. Translators may want to make this clear by adding the word “my” (Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

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 .