As in the previous verse, these two questions are rhetorical, with a strong negative response being understood. Some languages will perhaps need to express these two questions as negative statements which affirm emphatically that there is no accord and nothing in common.

The two verbal expressions in this verse translate two Greek nouns. The Greek has no verbs in verse 15. The first noun involves agreement or “harmony” (Moffatt and New International Version). The Greek term is actually the source of the English word “symphony.” The second noun means a “share” or a “common lot” (New American Bible). The Greek is literally “But what accord Christ with Beliar, or what part faith with unbelief?” But it is wise to transform these into verbal expressions, as most English versions do. This is done as follows in existing English versions: “agree … join with” (Revised English Bible); “agree … have in common with” (An American Translation) and “come to an agreement with … share” (New Jerusalem Bible); “What harmony is there…? What does a believer have in common…?” (New International Version); or “How can … have any agreement? What can a believer have together with…?” (New Century Version).

Belial comes from Hebrew and means “wickedness” or “worthlessness.” RSV translates this word in the Old Testament as “base fellows” or “worthless fellows” (Judges 20.13; 1 Sam 10.27). “Beliar,” a variant form of the name, is used in the Greek text (see RSV footnote). It occurs in several Jewish writings of the intertestamental period, and the name Belial occurs in the Qumran writings. In these intertestamental writings Belial is the name given to Satan. Since the name Belial is unknown to most readers, Good News Translation (also Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Nueva Biblia Española) uses the more widely understood term, “the Devil.” Other translations say “Satan” (Contemporary English Version, La Biblia Interconfesional).

On the terms for believer and unbeliever, see comments on the previous verse.

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 .