This is a rhetorical question. For languages in which Paul’s words may be misunderstood to indicate doubt in his own mind, it may be better to change the question to a statement (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible).

Verse 8 completes the comparison begun in verse 7. If the Law of Moses came with such splendor, how much greater is the splendor of the ministry of the Spirit.

Dispensation translates the same Greek word translated as “dispensation” in verse 7. Revised English Bible says “the ministry of the Spirit.” Other versions seek to show the parallel with the previous verse: “the administration of the Spirit” (Moffatt), and An American Translation has “the religion of the Spirit.” But Knox is unable to maintain the resemblance, translating simply “the spiritual law.”

Revised Standard Version slavishly maintains the future tense of the Greek verb will … be. When the Law of Moses was given, the new covenant was an event in the future. But the future tense in English suggests that the new covenant is not a present reality for Paul. For that reason Good News Translation uses the present tense: “how much greater is the glory.”

Verses 7 and 8 have been restructured as follows in one African language:
• 7 The old Laws were written on stones, and the glory of God was seen at that time. The people of Israel could not look [long] at the face of Moses, because it was shining strongly, even though this glory did not last. Therefore, if the Laws whose job is to bring death had glory like that, 8 then the work of the Spirit of God will have greater glory than the Laws. Is this not true?

The final question assumes the answer “Of course” and reflects the rhetorical character of the two verses, but only after having made the affirmation clearly.

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 .

Verse 4 is a restatement and expansion of what Paul had written in verse 2. In some languages it may be possible to use a transition word that indicates this clearly. Knox tries to indicate this by beginning the sentence with “Yes….” Others may say “Indeed” (Anchor Bible) or something similar.

This tent refers to the mortal human body (see 5.1). Good News Translation adds the word “earthly.” In order to show more clearly that each person has his or her own individual body, Contemporary English Version has translated using the plural “these tents.”

Not that we would be unclothed: Paul does not want to die before the return of Jesus. Some translators may need to say something like “we are not sighing because we want to die and leave these earthly bodies.”

But that we would be further clothed: Paul’s desire is not to die but rather that the spiritual body be put on him while he is still alive in his physical body. Paul wishes that Christ will return and so transform his physical body before he dies.

What is mortal: a reference to the physical body which will eventually die. In some languages the most natural meaningful equivalent will be simply “this body” or something similar.

Be swallowed up: the verb so translated here is rendered “overwhelmed” in 2.7 and “drowned” in Heb 11.29 (in the context of the Egyptians in the Red Sea). In this context it has the idea of being totally consumed or transformed. New American Bible and Phillips use the verb “absorbed,” while Barclay has “engulfed.” But the passive idea will have to be translated actively in many cases. The meaning is clearly expressed in Contemporary English Version: “It is because we want to change them for bodies that will never die.”

Life is “life immortal” in Revised English Bible. In other languages one may say “eternal life” or “true life.”

There are four possible types of model for this verse as a whole. The first drops the image of clothing altogether:
• Indeed, we humans have bodies that are like tents [temporary dwellings]. We cry because of the burden of pain which we carry. We don’t want to get rid of this body of ours on earth. But we feel the need to get the body that God has prepared for us, because this body that will die will be changed into one that is forever.

The second kind of model drops the image of the tent but keeps the clothing figure:
• Our bodies on this earth will someday die. We complain because of the aches and pains that we have to bear now. It is not that we want to get rid of the body, but we want to have a new body like a new set of clothes. We want to throw away our old clothes and have the new ones put on us, so that what is liable to death will be covered up by life itself.

The third type of model renders both figures of speech in a nonfigurative way:
• Our earthly bodies will not last forever. We cry because of the suffering which they must bear. It is not true that we want to die, but we do want God to change us and give us a new body that will live forever. That is, we want our earthly bodies to be changed into one that will be permanent.

Finally, it may be possible to retain both the tent and the clothing images by selecting the appropriate parts of the above models.

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 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 .

A major question of interpretation in verses 7-11 is whether Paul is referring to a specific person or whether he is speaking hypothetically, that is, speaking as if such a person may exist. The words If any one may refer to a particular person. If they do, then the verb translated as “they say” in verse 10 may refer to this particular individual (the Greek verb is singular). And the words “Let such people” in verse 11 may also be referring to the particular person first mentioned in verse 7 (the Greek is singular, “such a person”). See comments on 11.20 and 21, where the same pronoun is used and refers to Paul’s opponents in Corinth.

Look at what is before your eyes: these words may be translated as a command as in Revised Standard Version (also New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nouvelle version Segond révisée), as a statement of fact as in Good News Translation (also New American Bible, New International Version, Contemporary English Version and Bible en français courant), or as a question (King James Version). If this expression is taken as a command, the readers are being asked to consider what is self-evident, but if it is a statement, they are apparently considering only outward appearance. Most translations choose one of the first two possibilities, but the context does not decisively favor one interpretation over the others. This being the case, it may be better simply to follow the exegetical choice of the major language translation most likely to be consulted by readers of the receptor language. However, it is very unlikely that this should be translated as a question.

Christ’s: literally “of Christ,” that is, “belongs to Christ.”

Let him remind himself: this rather awkward English command in the third person may be more naturally stated as “that person should remember” or “let him reflect further” (Knox).

As he is Christ’s, so are we: there may be many different ways of wording this statement. The point is that the person Paul has in mind should realize that Paul and his associates are as much Christians as he is. Moffatt, taking the plural as referring to Paul alone, translates “I ‘belong to Christ’ as much as he does.” Or as Knox puts it, “we belong to Christ’s cause no less than himself.”

The pronoun we does not include the readers.

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 first sentence in this verse is strongly sarcastic. Paul means the opposite of what he says.

To my shame is literally “according to shame I speak,” without any possessive pronoun. Possibly he means to the shame of the Corinthians (so New Jerusalem Bible, “I say it to your shame”), but most likely he means to his own shame (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New American Bible); this interpretation retains the sarcasm.

For that: Good News Translation makes the meaning clearer by saying “to do those things,” clearly referring to the series of negative actions described in the previous verse.

The pronoun any one refers specifically to Paul’s opponents in Corinth. But, as in the previous verse, it may be better translated by a plural. See also 10.7. The structure here is a kind of comparison where Paul is comparing himself with any one who may be so bold as to boast. In some languages the idea “whatever someone else dares … I also dare” may have to be shifted to say “what others boast of … I also boast.” And note that the parenthetic I am speaking as a fool may have to be shifted to the end of the verse or to a position much earlier rather than breaking up the comparison.

The words between dashes in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation may be more easily understood if enclosed in parentheses in the receptor language. Or in some cases this sentence can be placed at the end of this verse without using parentheses. This in fact is what Contemporary English Version has done by concluding “but it is a foolish thing to do.”

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 .

Again: this word may go with the verb come (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation) or with the verb may humble (so Anchor Bible, “that my God may again humiliate me in your presence when I come,” and Martin). Grammar and context allow for either interpretation, though the latter seems more likely for at least two reasons: Paul has already indicated that he is coming (again) in verse 20, so to say “when I come again” seems unnecessary. And grammatically, the words when I come seem to be parenthetical. On Paul’s previous or first humiliation, see 2.1, 5.

My God: in a few languages the use of a possessive pronoun with the name of God is problematic. A literal translation may give the false impression that Paul considered himself to have a different God from that of his Corinthian readers. The sense is “the God I serve.” Note that the possessive pronoun is omitted by Living Bible, Phillips, Barclay, and Hughes commentary.

Mourn: this verb may be understood in some cultures as referring to an internal feeling that does not necessarily have any outward manifestation. However, in this context the term used is probably intended to indicate some visible display of sorrow. For this reason Good News Translation translates “weep,” and Knox has “shall have tears to shed” (so also Barclay).

Many of those who sinned before: the tense of the Greek verb sinned before suggests that these people have continued to sin. Anchor Bible says “many who have continued in their former sinning.” Paul is probably referring to sin which has continued since his second visit and his painful letter (2.1-4). The Greek verb indicates that the guilty persons had sinned at an earlier time. The sins “in the past” (Good News Translation) are not sins committed before they became Christians, but rather sins committed as Christians.

Have not repented: while this verb is common in the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation, this is the only time it occurs in the letters of the New Testament. The related noun is, however, found at 7.9-10. It involves a change of heart and a new direction in life.

Impurity, immorality, and licentiousness: these same three words occur in Gal 5.19, though in a different order. The first of these three words, impurity, is a general word which came to mean ceremonial or moral uncleanness, with no special emphasis on sexual sins. Paul, however, often uses this word along with other words that refer to sexual immorality, so the sense here is probably sexual uncleanness. Immorality is a general word which can be used for any kind of sexual sins or immoral acts. Licentiousness refers to sexual excesses that result in public indecent behavior. In Greek a single definite article (“the”) is used for all three nouns, which may suggest that Paul is using the three different terms as synonyms.

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 .