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 .