Such a one: while Paul clearly has a definite person in mind (Good News Translation “this person”), the Greek word means “For the kind of person [who would do this sort of thing].”

This punishment: the word this indicates that Paul is referring to a specific punishment known to him and to the Corinthians. Possibly the punishment was that of excommunication from the fellowship. Though nearly all translations say punishment, this word is perhaps too strong. Probably it does not indicate physical punishment, but discipline in a more general sense. The Greek word may mean “reproach” or “rebuke” (so Barrett: “this reproof”). Moffatt has a similar rendering, with “this censure.” If possible, translators should choose a word that is sufficiently general to cover various kinds of discipline. Another possible approach is to make a verb phrase of this noun, as in Translator’s New Testament, which translates the whole verse “It is enough in this case that the majority have condemned him.”

By the majority refers to the majority of the Christian community in Corinth (Martin: “by the majority [of church members]”). “By most of you” (Good News Translation) perhaps gives the impression that individuals at different times and in different ways punished the offender. Probably the punishment or reproof was carried out through a democratic procedure in a church meeting. Hence Revised English Bible translates “The penalty on which the general meeting has agreed has met the offence well enough.”

Enough: though most translations understand this word in terms of the severity of the punishment, enough may refer to the duration of the punishment. Indeed, verse 7 suggests that the punishment should no longer continue. If the latter interpretation is followed, the meaning is “this punishment by the majority has continued long enough” (so Nueva Biblia Española).

Some languages will require the restructuring of this verse along the following lines: “Most of you have already agreed on the way this person should be disciplined, and that should be sufficient” or “The punishment which most of you decided for that person will be enough for him.”

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 .

And even if: despite Paul’s intentions to proclaim the gospel openly (4.2), he concedes that it may be hidden from some people.

Our gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ that Paul and his companions preach. Although Paul says our gospel, this does not mean that their gospel is different from the gospel of other people. Rather the word our shows their personal involvement and commitment to the gospel. Some possible models for translators are “our message” (Contemporary English Version), “the good news” (Barclay), and “the Good News that we preach” (New Century Version). In those languages that must choose between inclusive and exclusive forms of the first person plural pronoun, the word our here should probably be understood as focusing on Paul and his associates as preachers of the Good News.

Veiled: elsewhere in Revised Standard Version this verb is translated “is hidden” (Matt 10.26) and “cover” (Luke 8.16). The idea is that of something concealed from view. This verb in Greek is related to the noun “veil” in 3.13, 14, 15, 16. But it is used here in a figurative sense. For this reason some translate more dynamically: “our gospel is a mystery” (Knox), or “if the good news which we tell is not clear…” (Good News for the World). Another way of avoiding the passive form may be to say “if some people do not understand the Good News we preach”—although this will almost certainly require a restructuring of the rest of the verse.

Those who are perishing: perishing refers to spiritual death, that is, the destruction of the whole person, body and soul. The participle used here is present and is the same as in 2.15. Contemporary English Version “someone who is lost” is therefore perhaps less satisfactory than “those who are on the way to being lost” (Translator’s New Testament) or “those who are on the road to perdition” (Knox).

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 .

The precise function of the word Therefore which begins this verse is not clear. Is Paul drawing out the consequences of what he has said in verse 16, or does the word Therefore go back to verses 14 and 15? If, as seems most likely, verses 16 and 17 are parallel in thought, then both verses draw out the consequences of what Paul has written in verses 14 and 15. Some translations such as Good News Translation and Revised English Bible fail to translate the connecting word Therefore and simply leave unexpressed the precise relationship of verse 17 to what precedes.

On the meaning and translation of in Christ, see comments on 1.21; 2.14.

He is a new creation: the pronoun he may have to be made more explicit in some languages, since some readers may think it refers to Christ. In those cases translators may have to say “that person is a new being.” New creation is literally “new ktisis.” The Greek word ktisis nearly always means “creation” in Paul’s letters, rather than “creature”; “creature” would make it refer to an individual person. The Greek has no pronoun and no verb, so the verb phrase that translators supply (“he is” or “there is”) depends in part on the meaning of the noun ktisis. According to Good News Translation and many other versions, the individual person “is a new being.” But according to Moffatt, Anchor Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and New Revised Standard Version, “there is a new creation,” meaning not just that the individual person has been made new but also that a new situation has been created. The majority of English versions, however, seem to prefer the individual interpretation reflected in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Translators may choose to place the alternative translation in a footnote, as Revised Standard Version does.

The old refers to things that characterized the pre-Christian life. Revised English Bible says “the old order.”

Has passed away: this may be rendered “has disappeared” (Knox), “has come to an end” (Anchor Bible), or “finished and gone” (Phillips). This stands in contrast with has come at the end of the verse.

Behold: this particle is often left untranslated in modern versions (Good News Translation and Revised English Bible) or is represented only by an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence (New American Bible and New International Version). New Revised Standard Version attempts to render it using the less archaic “see…!” If the receptor language has a particle that naturally calls attention to what follows, it may be used here.

Some manuscripts have the word “all” both at the end of verse 17 and at the beginning of verse 18. This reading of 17b is found in older translations such as Segond, Reina-Valera revisada, and King James Version (“all things are become new”), but the editors of the UBS Greek New Testament consider it more likely that a scribe later added the word to the end of verse 17.

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 .

Paul uses three “event” nouns followed by an adjective in the first half of this verse: grief, repentance, salvation, and no regret. Most likely the Corinthians are the ones who experienced grief, who repented, who will be saved, and who had no regrets. But it is also possible to understand that Paul was the one who had no regrets, that is, “For the sadness that God causes you brings about a change in your hearts that leads to your salvation, and I do not regret that.” See verse 8: “I do not regret it (though I did regret it).”

New Century Version translates this verse, not as a particular reference to the Corinthians, but as a general statement regarding repentance: “Being sorry in the way God wants makes a person change his heart and life. This leads to salvation, and we cannot be sorry for that….” The pronoun “we” in New Century Version includes Paul along with all Christians.

In many languages it will be necessary to make explicit the agents of these “event” nouns and the adjective. The context favors understanding the reference to be to the Corinthians specifically and not to Christians in general. And the structure of the sentence in Greek favors having the same agent, that is, the Corinthians rather than Paul, as the one having no regret.

Produces: twice in this verse and once in the next verse, Paul uses verbs translated as produces in Revised Standard Version. The sense of these verbs is “to bring about,” “to give rise to,” or “to create.” The two Greek verbs come from the same stem and are synonyms here.

On the meaning of repentance see comments on 7.9, where the same Greek word is translated as “repenting” in Revised Standard Version.

Worldly grief is contrasted with godly grief. Worldly here means “merely human” (Good News Translation). Some possible models for these two expressions may be “when God makes you feel sorry … when this world makes you feel sorry” (Contemporary English Version); “distress, accepted as God means it to be accepted … distress, regarded from the world’s point of view” (Barclay).

Salvation and death: on the term salvation see 1.6 and 6.2, where the same term is used. It is possible that salvation here refers to the spiritual well-being of the church community at Corinth as in 1.6. More likely, however, Paul is thinking here of the future salvation of individual Christians. Since death stands in contrast to salvation in this verse, death is not primarily physical death but rather spiritual death.

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 .

As noted in “Translating 2 Corinthians,” page 5 and at the beginning of chapter 8, some interpreters regard both chapters 8 and 9 to have been parts of separate letters that were later pieced together to form part of 2 Corinthians as we now have it. One’s decision on this issue has important implications for the translation of this verse, as the following comments will indicate.

The word But indicates a contrast: Paul has the feeling that there is no need to write (9.1), since he knows that the Corinthians are ready to give (9.2); yet he is sending co-workers on ahead of himself to be sure that the money is ready when he will arrive later.

I am sending is in the past tense in Greek, “I sent” (so King James Version, Reina-Valera revisada). New American Standard Bible has “I have sent.” If chapter 9 was originally a separate letter written after chapter 8, then perhaps Paul had already sent these co-workers on to Corinth. If, however, chapters 8 and 9 were originally written as part of the same letter, then the verb “I sent” is probably an epistolary aorist and should be translated in the present tense (see explanations at 8.17 and 9.5). Since we now have the letter in the form of a single, whole letter, the latter explanation should probably be adopted by modern translators.

The brethren translates the Greek word for “brothers.” Though this word sometimes seems to include Christian women also, in this verse it probably does refer to men only. Paul is referring to the three persons already mentioned in 8.16-24. The words “these brothers” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Moffatt) or “these friends” (Revised English Bible) indicate that Paul is referring to brothers who have already been mentioned. Though the brethren may possibly refer only to the two unnamed men of 8.16-24, Titus is probably included (see 8.18). Translators may want to make explicit the identity of “these brothers”: “I am sending Titus and the two others” (Contemporary English Version). Or one may prefer to say simply “these three men.”

If chapter 9 was a separate letter written later than chapter 8, then possibly the brethren do not refer to Titus and the two brothers of chapter 8 but rather to other Christians whom Paul had sent. The translations of Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version cited in the previous paragraph assume that these two chapters originally were part of the same letter as they now exist.

So that our boasting about you might not prove vain: this explains not why Paul is sending the delegation, but why he expects the Corinthians to be ready with their offering when they arrive. It may be better in some languages to make this a separate sentence as in Contemporary English Version: “This will prove that we were not wrong to brag about you.”

This case means in the matter of their being ready to contribute to the collection. Another way of saying this would be “in this matter” (Barclay). And note that Contemporary English Version leaves this part of the verse implicit.

Ready: in many languages it will be necessary to state clearly what is only implied in this word: “ready to help” or “ready to give.”

As I said you would be: or “just as I promised others you would be ready [to give].”

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 .

Paul often ends his letters with such a benediction (compare 1 Cor 16.23; Gal 6.18; 1 Thes 5.28; 2 Thes 3.18). Since this whole verse is a wish or prayer of Paul for the Christians at Corinth, it may be necessary in the receptor language to introduce it by saying “It is my desire that…” or “I pray that…” (Contemporary English Version).

On The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, see comments on 8.9, and compare 1 Cor 1.3. Grace must not be understood as a quality or characteristic of Christ but as something which he does. In some languages it will be more natural to say something like “I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will show his kindness to you….”

Since the first part of this verse must mean the grace that comes from Jesus Christ, the other two parts of the verse probably mean the love that God has for them (“May God bless you with his love,” Contemporary English Version) and the fellowship that the Holy Spirit creates (“May the Holy Spirit join all your hearts together,” Contemporary English Version). It is possible, however, but not as likely, that Paul refers to love for God and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

You all: as in Rom 15.33 and 1 Cor 16.24, the second person plural pronoun is accompanied by the inclusive adjective all, thus highlighting the extent of Paul’s wish for the Corinthians. This comprehensiveness is also emphasized several times earlier in this letter (2.3, 5 and 7.13, 15).

The following model may be helpful in some languages: “I pray for all of you that the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be gracious to you, that God will continue to love you, and that the Holy Spirit will unite you in his fellowship.”

Some manuscripts add the word “Amen” to the end of this letter (see King James Version, Reina-Valera revisada), but scholars today agree that this word was later added by a scribe and was not written by Paul. It should therefore not be used in the receptor language.

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 .