In verse 10 Paul does not quote directly from the Old Testament, but the words seed to the sower and bread for food are no doubt influenced by the words of Isa 55.10. The words the harvest of your righteousness are influenced by the words of Hos 10.12. Some translations (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, God’s New Covenant, New Jerusalem Bible) place these and other direct citations from the Old Testament in bold font or in italics to indicate to the reader that Paul’s thought and expression are influenced by the Scriptures.
He: though the pronoun “he” in verse 9 probably refers to a human being, here in verse 10 it refers to God, as Good News Translation makes quite clear by using the noun “God” in place of the pronoun (also Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Barclay, and Contemporary English Version).
Sower: in some languages this may have to be translated “farmer” or “the person who plants [seeds].”
Bread for food: God’s provision is not limited to bread, and the word for bread is often used in the Bible for food in general. In some languages, therefore, it may be more natural here to say “food to eat” or “food for people to eat.”
Supply: this verb may be rendered “furnish” or “provide,” and in some cases “give.”
Multiply your resources: as indicated in the RSV note, the Greek may be translated “multiply your sowing,” or more literally “multiply your seed.” But seed is intended to be understood figuratively here, continuing the figure from the first clause in the verse. If the figurative language will be understood in this context, the more literal rendering is acceptable.
As in verse 9, righteousness here seems to refer specifically to acts of “generosity” (Good News Translation).
Increase the harvest of your righteousness: God will not allow their generosity to lack results, as the following verses make clear. In some languages it will not be advisable to retain the figure of speech using the idea of harvest. A possible model in this case is “He will increase what you have, so that you can give even more to those in need” (Contemporary English Version). If the image of the harvest is retained in translation, a possible model may be “he will cause it to become much, so that you may act as people of righteousness indeed.”
As noted on 9.1, the pronoun your is plural here and throughout chapter 9.
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 .