On the translation of we, see comments on the section heading above at 6.14.

These promises refers to God’s promises in verses 6.16-18 and shows the continuity of Paul’s argument. Knox begins this verse “Such are the promises….” Others may wish to make clear the origin of these promises: “God has made these promises” (Contemporary English Version).

Beloved: see also 12.19. The Corinthians are loved by Paul. Good News Translation says “my dear friends,” though “our dear friends” is also possible. In many languages this affectionate term of address will fit more naturally at the beginning of the verse, as in Contemporary English Version, “My friends, God has made these promises.” The same form of address is also used by Paul in Rom 12.19.

Let us cleanse ourselves: most versions maintain the image of ritual purification: “wash ourselves clean” (New Jerusalem Bible); “purify ourselves” (New American Bible and Barclay). But Contemporary English Version attempts to convey the idea without the precise imagery of the Old Testament: “So we should stay away from everything that keeps our bodies and spirits from being clean.” Another translation has “let us not do anything that would make our bodies or spirits unclean.”

Only here in his letters does Paul use the Greek noun translated as defilement, although the related verb is found in 1 Cor 8.7. A defilement is something that makes a person ritually unclean or impure so as to be unfit for participating in Temple worship.

Body and spirit is literally “flesh and spirit.” Here the reference is to the body and the human spirit. Taken together, body and spirit refer to the whole human being, the outward and inward aspects of one’s being. The use of these two terms makes it perfectly clear that Paul has in mind something more than mere ritual purity, which is so prominent in the Old Testament.

Holiness in this context refers to holy living, that is, the kind of behavior that God requires of people. The idea of holiness is difficult to convey in many languages. In some cases translators speak of “giving one’s self to God,” since the root meaning of holiness is to be set apart for God.

Make … perfect: the idea of perfection may be even more difficult to express than holiness in some languages. Sometimes an adverb meaning “completely” or “totally” can be used with a verb phrase, to get close to this meaning; for example, “give ourselves totally to God’s way of living.”

On the fear of God see comments on 5.11.

Some possible models for the very difficult last part of this verse are “Therefore let us respect God and give ourselves entirely to him” or “We should honor God and try to become completely like him” (Contemporary English Version).

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 .