Why …: this Revised Standard Version rendering may be misleading, and Good News Translation has no overt transition marker at all, but in Greek this verse begins with a word that expresses a contrast with the preceding verse. The sense is “Instead of feeling that we had hope, on the contrary we felt that we had received the death sentence.” New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible begin verse 9 with the word “Indeed,” while New Jerusalem Bible and Contemporary English Version have “In fact,” both of which underscore the sense of despair mentioned in verse 8.

We felt that we had received: literally “but we have [or, had] the sentence of death in ourselves.” If Paul was referring to a physical illness, then the verb “we have” may indicate that the results of the illness continued to bother him. If so, a better translation will be “we ourselves have received within ourselves” (so Barrett). But the tense of the verb may refer to an action already completed (as in 2.13), in which case the Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation translations are correct.

The sentence of death is, as Good News Translation makes clear, “the death sentence.” Probably this is figurative language. Paul had not actually received a legal sentence of death from a judge; rather his affliction was so great that he felt the way he would have felt if he had in fact received a legal sentence of death. Another way of saying this may be “we really thought that the time had come for us to die.”

But that was: these three words in Revised Standard Version translate one word in Greek that expresses purpose. The second half of this verse expresses the purpose for which they had “received the death sentence.” The word that refers to the belief that they had received the death sentence. Both Good News Translation and New International Version attempt to supply this information by saying “But this happened so that…,” and Revised English Bible has “This was meant to teach us….”

Rely … on: the verb so translated may also be rendered “put [our] trust in” (Barclay) or “place [our] confidence in” (God’s New Covenant). The verb “trust” is also used by Contemporary English Version, Knox, and New Century Version.

Who raises the dead: Judaism praised God’s power as being able to raise the dead to life in this world (see 1 Sam 2.6; 1 Kgs 17.17-22; 2 Kgs 4.32-37). Since God is able to bring dead people back to life, surely he is able to protect those who suffer or are in serious danger. Some translations insert the word “can,” that is, “who can even raise the dead” (An American Translation; so also Phillips). However, such an insertion may suggest that, though God is able to raise the dead, he does not do so. But Paul is affirming that God does raise the dead.

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 .

This verse is made up of two questions, the second of which is rather complex in form. The main point of this verse is to deny Paul’s need to introduce himself or to produce written recommendations from some third party to the people in Corinth, who already knew him well. In many languages such questions will serve the same purpose, but in some cases it will be better to drop the question form and to change them into affirmative or negative statements:
• You may think that we are once again commending ourselves to you, but this is not so. Some people need letters of recommendation to you or from you. But certainly we do not need such letters.

While this overall structure may need to be adopted, the details on how to render certain elements within it will be discussed in the paragraphs that follow.

To commend ourselves again: his question anticipates the assumption that some Christians in Corinth may criticize him for boasting because of his comments in the preceding verse (2.17). The question is rhetorical and is his way of saying that they are not boasting about themselves again. Ourselves does not include the readers. The word again probably suggests that some Corinthian Christians had previously accused Paul of commending himself to them. To commend oneself was to state one’s credentials and establish one’s credibility (see also 4.2; 5.12). This, of course, should be unnecessary for someone already well known. The verb commend has the basic meaning “stand beside” or “stand with” but may also mean “prove” (7.11), “show,” or “confirm.” It is used eight times in 2 Corinthians (3.1; 4.2; 5.12; 6.4; 7.11; 10.12, 18; 12.11), showing that it is a special problem in Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians at the time this letter was written, but it does occur four times elsewhere in Paul’s writings (Rom 3.5; 5.8; 16.1; and Gal 2.18). The reference in Rom 16.1 is most closely related to the usage here.

In Greek the form of the question Or do we need…? implies that a negative answer is expected. Anchor Bible captures the intended negative response as follows: “Surely, we do not need … do we?” God’s New Covenant similarly shows that the intended answer is negative: “Is not the truth rather that we are in no need, as certain people are, of commendatory letters…?”

Letters of recommendation were common in the ancient world (see Acts 18.27 and Rom 16.1-2). Such letters were written to introduce someone and to give approval to that person. Barclay calls these “letters of introduction.”

Paul does not identify who the some people are who needed letters of recommendation, but in the context of 2 Corinthians these are persons who came to Corinth from somewhere else with letters of recommendation from recognized authorities and who are opposed to Paul. Probably the same persons are referred to in 2.17 and 10.2. In this context the indirect reference to his opponents as “some other people” (Good News Translation) suggests that Paul is critical of them. Phillips expresses the implicit criticism well: “Do we need, as some apparently do…?”

Or from you: Contemporary English Version makes explicit the purpose of letters of recommendation from the Corinthians: “Do we need letters … from you to tell others about 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 .

It is all for your sake: Paul’s experiences of suffering referred to in 4.8-12 are endured for the sake of the Corinthians. Contemporary English Version begins this verse with “All of this has been done for you….” In some languages it may be necessary to be even more explicit by saying “all these affairs” or “all of this suffering….”

For your sake: some languages have special verb forms (called benefactive) that indicate that the action of the verb is done for someone else. Such a form would be appropriate here. In other cases translators may say something like “for your welfare,” “in your interest,” or simply “for you.”

Grace: the reference is to grace that comes from God, as Good News Translation makes explicit. Compare 6.1; 8.1; 9.14, where God is clearly named by Paul as the originator of grace. See also 1.2, 12 for comments on grace.

To more and more people: the Greek is literally “through the majority.” In 2.6 this word refers to the majority of the church members. Is Paul thinking that God’s grace will extend in greater depth to more and more members of the Corinthian church (“the majority,” so Barrett)? Or is he referring to the geographical spread of God’s grace, so that more and more people are converted to the Christian faith? Either interpretation is possible, but the latter seems more probable in the context.

Thanksgiving: by those to whom God’s grace extended. The subject of the verbal expression increase thanksgiving in Revised Standard Version is the pronoun it, referring to the extension of God’s grace to a greater number of people. Another way of saying this is “grace … may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” (Anchor Bible).

To the glory of God: see comments on 1.20.

The complex form of this verse may be made more understandable by breaking it down into the component parts. It may be stated in four separate sentences: “All this is happening for you. It is taking place so that God’s grace will reach more and more people. Then more people will thank God. And this will bring more glory to God.”

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 .

Good News Translation continues to break down the long, complex sentence of the original by making separate sentences here. This will probably serve as a good model for the receptor language in most cases. The words honor, dishonor, ill repute, and good repute form a stylistic construction known as chiasmus. In such a construction the two center words are paired together, and the two outer words are paired together in the form a-b-b′-a′. In both cases the paired words are basically synonyms. In some languages it may be more natural to put the positive element first in each of the two pairs, but in others the negative element may come first in each case. Naturalness in the receptor language should be the determining factor in the arrangement of these four expressions.

In honor and dishonor: the word translated as honor is the Greek word often translated as “glory” (see 1.20 and 3.7-18). In this context it means “in good reputation,” making it virtually synonymous with the following statement good repute. The term dishonor is elsewhere translated “menial” (Rom 9.21), “degrading” (1 Cor 11.14), “shame” (2 Cor 11.21) and “ignoble” (2 Tim 2.20). This noun is made up of a negative prefix and the stem of a verb meaning “honor,” “revere” or “value.” It seems to refer to the same sort of activities that result in ill repute which follows. Here it may be translated as “by shameful treatment” or “someone esteems me, someone else treats me with contempt” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

In ill repute and good repute: the two Greek terms refer to having a bad reputation and a good reputation. The first two pairs of words may be translated “sometimes people respect us and sometimes they shame us. Sometimes they mock us and sometimes they praise us.” This will also solve the problem of translating passive meanings where this is a problem.

We are treated as impostors and yet are true: treated by whom? Christians? Non-Christians? Literally the Greek says “as deceivers and true.” Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation correctly translate the last two words of this verse as opposed to what precedes. Though they are treated as deceivers, they speak the truth. The meaning is clearly expressed in Contemporary English Version: “We always told the truth about ourselves. But some people said we did not.” Another possible model avoiding the passive form is “people accuse us of being liars, but we always tell the truth.”

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 .

Note that Contemporary English Version and Phillips begin a new paragraph at this point, but most English versions follow the UBS Greek New Testament, which has no break here.

Accordingly translates a Greek construction that introduces in verse 6 the result of the Macedonian churches’ example in the preceding verses. Revised English Bible begins verse 6 with the words “the upshot is that.”

Titus: see comments on 2.13.

As he had already made a beginning probably means that Titus had earlier begun to organize the collection in Corinth (see 8.10). Since this is information about something that happened before the events Paul is now relating, it may be better to place it at the beginning of the verse, possibly in a separate sentence: “Titus was the one who got you started doing this good thing…” (Contemporary English Version). In other languages it may fit better at the end of the verse as in Translator’s New Testament: “he was in charge of it at the beginning.”

He should also complete among you: Titus was assigned the responsibility to help the Corinthians complete the raising of the collection.

This gracious work is literally “this grace,” using the same word as in verse 4, where it is translated “favor.” Perhaps Paul was thinking of God’s undeserved favor in giving to the Corinthians the desire to give generously (see 8.1).

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 .

Thanks be to God: the Greek does not indicate who is to give thanks to God (see 2.14 and 8.16). The implied agent is “we” (Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

The inexpressible gift, or “present,” may be the grace that God has given to the Corinthians, and the resulting unity of Jews and Gentiles in one universal Church. Or it may be his son Jesus Christ. Whatever the precise meaning, Paul says that this is a gift so wonderful that it cannot be described in words. The Good News Translation rendering seems to focus more on value rather than on the fact that the gift cannot be described by human speech. However, most versions retain the meaning “indescribable” (New American Bible and New Revised Standard Version): “beyond all telling” (New Jerusalem Bible); “which no words can describe” (Translator’s New Testament); “too wonderful for words!” (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 .

Paul apparently is alluding to Jewish traditions outside the Hebrew scriptures that tell of Satan disguising himself as a shining angel when he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. On Satan see comments on 2.11.

And no wonder that these false apostles behave in deceptive ways and disguise themselves to be what they are not; even Satan, who is their master (verse 15), behaved in a similar manner. Some languages may require a full verb phrase at this point: “It is no surprise that they do this!” or “we should not be astonished that this happens.”

Disguises himself: or, as in the previous verse, “tries to make himself look like…” or “tricks people into thinking he is….”

An angel of light: the relationship between the words angel and of light may be that the angel (or, messenger) brings light. But more likely Paul’s thought reflects Jewish traditions in which Satan appears in the form of a shining angel in order to deceive people. The words of light function as an adjective, that is, “a shining angel” (An American Translation). Most translations keep the form of the Greek, angel of light. Some omit the words of light (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), since angels by nature shine with light. Translators should translate the words of light. An American Translation is a good model, since it expresses clearly in English the Semitic influence on the Greek grammar here.

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 .

Here translates the Greek word “behold” (so King James Version, Reina-Valera revisada, Nouvelle version Segond révisée). This single Greek word is used to emphasize the importance of what Paul is about to say. Revised Standard Version does not completely capture the force of the Greek, and Good News Translation does not even attempt to translate this Greek word. Many languages will have some way of emphasizing or drawing attention to the importance of what is about to be said.

The words for the third time I am ready to come to you do not mean that twice before Paul was ready to come and did not come, as the Good News Translation translation also seems to suggest. Rather, Paul has already gone twice before to Corinth, and now he is ready to make a third trip (see also 13.1 and comments). Revised English Bible says “I am now getting ready to pay you a third visit.” In some languages it may even be necessary to use two separate sentences and say something like “I have already been with you twice. Now I am ready to come to you a third time.”

And I will not be a burden: Paul did not accept financial help from the Corinthian Christians during his past visits, and he will continue to refuse material help from them (see 11.9 and 12.13). Some languages may require the addition of the word “still,” as in Contemporary English Version, which says “But I still won’t make a burden of myself.” And the idea of being a burden may have to be translated more explicitly as “I do not intend to cripple you with expenses” (Knox). In some cases the conjunction “but” may fit better to introduce this clause, since it may be expected that Paul would require some hospitality.

For I seek not what is yours but you: the words what is yours refer to the Corinthian Christians’ money (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible). What Paul is saying is that he does not want the things that belong to the people in Corinth, but he wants them. However, in many languages it will be awkward or possibly misleading to translate literally either “I want … you” or “I seek … you.” One language finds it necessary to translate “I am coming to help you; I am not trying to get your money.”

For children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children: the implicit point of comparison is that Paul is the spiritual parent to the Corinthian “children” (see 1 Cor 4.15). The verb translated lay up gives the idea of setting something aside for future use (see Matt 6.19). It has been translated “make provision for” (Revised English Bible) and “save up for” (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Anchor Bible, and 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 .