Good News Translation rearranges the order of the clauses in this verse to present the ideas in a logical or chronological order. In the Revised Standard Version translation it sounds as if the many prayers have already been answered when Paul writes. The thought is rather that: (1) the people will pray for Paul and Timothy; (2) God will answer the prayers and will bless Paul and Timothy; and (3) other people will thank God.

Verse 11 begins with a participle in Greek. Several options exist for translating this participle. (1) Sometimes participles have the force of an imperative, as in Revised Standard Version, “You also must help us.” (2) Participles may also express the means by which an action is accomplished, or may express the circumstances under which an action is accomplished. This latter use of the participle is reflected in Good News Translation, “as you help us.” Similar to Good News Bible is New Revised Standard Version, “as you also join in helping us” (so also Revised English Bible). (3) Participles may express a condition: “if you too cooperate on our behalf” (Barrett). The context does not favor one interpretation over the others, but the third option, “if you too cooperate,” is probably the most widely accepted by recent interpreters.

You also must help us by prayer: literally “you also cooperating in helping us by prayer.” The Greek does not state with whom the Corinthians cooperate. With one another? With Paul and Timothy? With God? Revised English Bible seems to suggest that they cooperate with God: “Yes, he will continue to deliver us, while you cooperate by praying for us.”

On our behalf: as the note in NIV indicates, many manuscripts read “on your behalf.” The meaning would then be that many Christians gave thanks for the intercessory prayers of the Corinthians. Such a reading makes very little sense in the context and is not likely to be original.

For the blessing granted us: as noted above, Paul is referring to blessings from God that have not yet been granted (see Good News Translation). The granting of blessings and the thanksgiving that will follow will come after the prayers that Paul is urging in this verse. The Revised Standard Version translation is not a good model here. It is better to follow Good News Bible with the future tense of the verb “to bless,” or to say something like “for the blessing that God will give [or, bestow on] us.”

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 .