2 Corinthians 1

Paul and Timothy to the holy ones of Corinth and all Achaia — grace and peace. Blessed be the Father of compassions, the God of all consolation — who comforts us so that we may comfort. As sufferings abound, so does consolation. In Asia, weighed down beyond power, we had the sentence of death — that we might trust not in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. Our boast is the testimony of conscience — we write nothing but what you read and recognise. The plan to come to you first — not ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’. God’s promises are ‘Yes’ in him — the God who confirms, anointed, sealed and gave the deposit of the Spirit. Sparing you, I did not come to Corinth.

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος ⸂Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ⸃ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, σὺν τοῖς ἁγίοις πᾶσιν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Ἀχαΐᾳ·

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy the brother, to the assembly of God that is in Corinth, with all the holy ones who are in the whole of Achaia:

first here Christ Χριστός Christos

first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous

χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions and God of all consolation,

ὁ παρακαλῶν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ θλίψει ἡμῶν, εἰς τὸ δύνασθαι ἡμᾶς παρακαλεῖν τοὺς ἐν πάσῃ θλίψει διὰ τῆς παρακλήσεως ἧς παρακαλούμεθα αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ.

who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those in every affliction through the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Why this rendering

2Cor.1.4 Observation

Syntactic observation

ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως, ὁ παρακαλῶν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ θλίψει ἡμῶν, εἰς τὸ δύνασθαι ἡμᾶς παρακαλεῖν τοὺς ἐν πάσῃ θλίψει διὰ τῆς παρακλήσεως ἧς παρακαλούμεθα αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ — the Father of compassions and God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those in every affliction through the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted by God. παράκλησις (consolation) and παρακαλέω (comfort) come ten times in vv.3-7 — noun six, verb four. English carries them on two Latin roots, consolation / comfort, so the one Greek root is split (a recorded loss). παρακαλέω is the verb of Rom 12:1 (‘I exhort’); here it takes the site of Matt 5:4, ‘they will be comforted’. θλιβόμεθα in v.6 (be pressed) is the verb of Matt 7:14 (‘pressed the road’) and of the crowd pressing in Mark 3:9, and the verb of θλῖψις (affliction) — English pressed / affliction loses the root (a recorded loss). πάθημα (sufferings; Rom 8:18) and πάσχω (suffer) keep one root. οἰκτιρμῶν in v.3 (plural) is the ‘compassion’ of Rom 12:1, and εὐλογητός (blessed) the word of Mark 14:61 and Rom 1:25. βεβαία in v.7 (sure; Rom 4:16) shares its root with βεβαιῶν (confirms) in v.21.

Rendering options · 2

Adopted

“consolation / comfort” — the noun and verb as fixed

Basis As fixed at Luke 2:25 and Matt 5:4; the paragraph is built on one root in noun and verb.

“comfort / comfort”

Basis Forcing the English noun onto ‘comfort’ as well.

Rejected ‘Comfort’ as noun would overwrite the fixed ‘consolation’ of Luke 2:25 and blur παραμυθία (1 Cor 14:3).

Lost in translation

παράκλησις ↔ παρακαλέω (ten times in vv.3-7) — ‘consolation / comfort’ split one root across two Latin words.

Survives in · this edition — 1 of the nine carry it (not this language)

θλῖψις ↔ θλίβω (vv.4, 6) — ‘affliction / pressed’ loses the root.

this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)

ὅτι καθὼς περισσεύει τὰ παθήματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς ἡμᾶς, οὕτως διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ περισσεύει καὶ ἡ παράκλησις ἡμῶν.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, so also through Christ our consolation abounds.

εἴτε δὲ θλιβόμεθα, ὑπὲρ τῆς ὑμῶν παρακλήσεως καὶ σωτηρίας· ⸂εἴτε παρακαλούμεθα, ὑπὲρ τῆς ὑμῶν παρακλήσεως⸃ τῆς ἐνεργουμένης ἐν ὑπομονῇ τῶν αὐτῶν παθημάτων ὧν καὶ ἡμεῖς πάσχομεν,

Now if we are pressed, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your consolation, which works in the endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer.

καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς ἡμῶν βεβαία ὑπὲρ ⸀ὑμῶν· εἰδότες ὅτι ⸀ὡς κοινωνοί ἐστε τῶν παθημάτων, οὕτως καὶ τῆς παρακλήσεως.

And our hope for you is sure, knowing that as you are partners of the sufferings, so also of the consolation.

Οὐ γὰρ θέλομεν ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ⸀ὑπὲρ τῆς θλίψεως ἡμῶν τῆς ⸀γενομένης ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, ὅτι καθ’ ὑπερβολὴν ⸂ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐβαρήθημεν⸃, ὥστε ἐξαπορηθῆναι ἡμᾶς καὶ τοῦ ζῆν·

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about our affliction that happened in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond power, so that we were utterly at a loss even for living;

ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν, ἵνα μὴ πεποιθότες ὦμεν ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῖς ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ ἐγείροντι τοὺς νεκρούς·

rather, we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we might not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,

Why this rendering

2Cor.1.9 Observation

Syntactic observation

καθ’ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐβαρήθημεν, ὥστε ἐξαπορηθῆναι ἡμᾶς καὶ τοῦ ζῆν· ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν, ἵνα μὴ πεποιθότες ὦμεν ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῖς ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ ἐγείροντι τοὺς νεκρούς· ὃς ἐκ τηλικούτου θανάτου ἐρρύσατο ἡμᾶς καὶ ῥύσεται — we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond power, so that we were utterly at a loss even for living; rather, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we might not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who rescued us from so great a death and will rescue us. βαρέω in v.8 is the verb of Luke 21:34, ‘lest your hearts be weighed down’, and καθ’ ὑπερβολήν the phrase of Rom 7:13 (‘exceedingly’). ἐξαπορέομαι (be utterly at a loss — two New Testament sites, here and 4:8) is ἀπορέω (be at a loss; Mark 6:20, Acts 25:20) with ἐκ- prefixed — ‘utterly’ is that prefix. ἀπόκριμα (sentence) is a New Testament hapax, a word for an official verdict — this edition keeps ‘the sentence of death’ (θάνατος = death) rather than ‘death sentence’ as a set phrase. πεποιθότες ἐπί (trust in) is the perfect of Matt 27:43, ‘he trusted in God’. ῥύομαι comes three times in v.10 — aorist (rescued), future (will rescue), future (will still rescue) — as fixed at Rom 7:24. τηλικοῦτος (so great) has four New Testament sites. συνυπουργέω in v.11 (help together) is a hapax.

Rendering options · 2

Adopted

“utterly at a loss” — the ἐκ- of ἐξαπορέομαι as ‘utterly’

Basis Only the prefix is added to the fixed ‘at a loss’; the relation of the two words stays visible.

“despaired even of life”

Basis The familiar rendering.

Rejected It imports ‘hope’ (ἐλπίς), another word, and cuts the link to ἀπορέω.

Lost in translation

ἀπορέω ↔ ἐξαπορέομαι — ‘at a loss / utterly at a loss’ carries the prefix as ‘utterly’.

Survives in · this edition — 2 of the nine carry it (this language among them)

ῥύομαι three times (v.10) — aorist, future, future all stand as ‘rescued · will rescue · will still rescue’.

Survives in · this edition — 2 of the nine carry it (this language among them)

ὃς ἐκ τηλικούτου θανάτου ἐρρύσατο ἡμᾶς καὶ ⸀ῥύσεται, εἰς ὃν ἠλπίκαμεν ὅτι καὶ ἔτι ῥύσεται,

who rescued us from so great a death and will rescue us; in whom we have hoped that he will also still rescue us,

συνυπουργούντων καὶ ὑμῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τῇ δεήσει, ἵνα ἐκ πολλῶν προσώπων τὸ εἰς ἡμᾶς χάρισμα διὰ πολλῶν εὐχαριστηθῇ ὑπὲρ ⸀ἡμῶν.

as you also help together for us by supplication, so that the gift of grace to us, through many faces, may be given thanks for through many on our behalf.

Ἡ γὰρ καύχησις ἡμῶν αὕτη ἐστίν, τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἐν ⸀ἁγιότητι καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ ⸀τοῦ θεοῦ, ⸀οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ σαρκικῇ ἀλλ’ ἐν χάριτι θεοῦ, ἀνεστράφημεν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, περισσοτέρως δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς·

For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in the holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more toward you.

οὐ γὰρ ἄλλα γράφομεν ὑμῖν ἀλλ’ ἢ ἃ ἀναγινώσκετε ἢ καὶ ἐπιγινώσκετε, ἐλπίζω δὲ ⸀ὅτι ἕως τέλους ἐπιγνώσεσθε,

For we write nothing else to you than what you read or even recognise; and I hope that you will recognise until the end,

καθὼς καὶ ἐπέγνωτε ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ μέρους, ὅτι καύχημα ὑμῶν ἐσμεν καθάπερ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ κυρίου ⸀ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ.

as you also recognised us in part, that we are your boast, just as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.

Καὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πεποιθήσει ἐβουλόμην ⸂πρότερον πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐλθεῖν⸃, ἵνα δευτέραν ⸀χάριν ⸀σχῆτε,

And in this confidence I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second grace,

καὶ δι’ ὑμῶν διελθεῖν εἰς Μακεδονίαν, καὶ πάλιν ἀπὸ Μακεδονίας ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ ὑφ’ ὑμῶν προπεμφθῆναι εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν.

and to pass through you into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and to be sent on my way by you to Judea.

first here Judea Ἰουδαία Ioudaia

τοῦτο οὖν ⸀βουλόμενος μήτι ἄρα τῇ ἐλαφρίᾳ ἐχρησάμην; ἢ ἃ βουλεύομαι κατὰ σάρκα βουλεύομαι, ἵνα ᾖ παρ’ ἐμοὶ τὸ Ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ Οὒ οὔ;

So then, wanting this, did I use lightness? Or what I resolve, do I resolve according to flesh, so that with me there may be ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’?

πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ὁ λόγος ἡμῶν ὁ πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ⸀ἔστιν Ναὶ καὶ Οὔ.

But God is faithful, that our word to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’.

ὁ ⸂τοῦ θεοῦ γὰρ⸃ υἱὸς ⸂Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς⸃ ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν δι’ ἡμῶν κηρυχθείς, δι’ ἐμοῦ καὶ Σιλουανοῦ καὶ Τιμοθέου, οὐκ ἐγένετο Ναὶ καὶ Οὒ, ἀλλὰ Ναὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γέγονεν·

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you through us — through me and Silvanus and Timothy — did not become ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, but in him ‘Yes’ has become.

Why this rendering

2Cor.1.19 Observation

Syntactic observation

ἵνα ᾖ παρ’ ἐμοὶ τὸ Ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ Οὒ οὔ; πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ὁ λόγος ἡμῶν ὁ πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἔστιν Ναὶ καὶ Οὔ. ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ γὰρ υἱὸς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς … οὐκ ἐγένετο Ναὶ καὶ Οὒ, ἀλλὰ Ναὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γέγονεν· ὅσαι γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ Ναί — so that with me there may be ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’? … our word to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ … Jesus Christ did not become ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, but in him ‘Yes’ has become. For as many as are the promises of God, in him is the ‘Yes’. τὸ Ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ Οὒ οὔ in v.17 are the two words of Matt 5:37, ‘Yes, yes — No, no’, kept as in Matthew. The article τό turns the words into nouns — ‘the Yes’, ‘the No’. ἐλαφρία in v.17 (lightness — only here in the New Testament) is the noun of ἐλαφρός in Matt 11:30, ‘my burden is light’ — not paraphrased ‘fickleness’. βουλεύομαι is the verb of John 11:53 and Acts 27:39 (‘take counsel’); here one resolves alone, so ‘resolve’. Verses 21-22 draw God in four participles — βεβαιῶν (confirms; Mark 16:20, Rom 15:8) · χρίσας (anointed; Luke 4:18) · σφραγισάμενος (set a seal; John 6:27) · δούς (gave). χρίω shares its root with Χριστός (Christ) — the link ‘anointed … Christ’ is lost in English (a recorded loss). ἀρραβών (deposit — three New Testament sites) is a word of commerce, not shortened to ‘guarantee’. κυριεύω in v.24 is the ‘lord it over’ fixed at Luke 22:25 and Rom 14:9.

Rendering options · 2

Adopted

“Yes / No” — as fixed at Matt 5:37

Basis The same two words; the saying of the Sermon on the Mount echoes in the letter.

“yea / nay”

Basis The older English pair.

Rejected It cuts the link to Matt 5:37, whose answer-words are ‘Yes / No’.

Lost in translation

χρίω (v.21) ↔ Χριστός — ‘anointed / Christ’ loses the root.

this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)

βέβαιος (v.7) ↔ βεβαιόω (v.21) — ‘sure / confirm’ loses the root.

Survives in · this edition — 1 of the nine carry it (not this language)

ὅσαι γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ Ναί· ⸀διὸ καὶ ⸂δι’ αὐτοῦ⸃ τὸ Ἀμὴν τῷ θεῷ πρὸς δόξαν δι’ ἡμῶν.

For as many as are the promises of God, in him is the ‘Yes’; therefore also through him is the ‘Amen’ to God, for glory, through us.

ὁ δὲ βεβαιῶν ἡμᾶς σὺν ὑμῖν εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ χρίσας ἡμᾶς θεός,

Now the one who confirms us with you into Christ and has anointed us is God,

ὁ καὶ σφραγισάμενος ἡμᾶς καὶ δοὺς τὸν ἀρραβῶνα τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν.

who has also set a seal on us and given the deposit of the Spirit in our hearts.

Ἐγὼ δὲ μάρτυρα τὸν θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦμαι ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν, ὅτι φειδόμενος ὑμῶν οὐκέτι ἦλθον εἰς Κόρινθον.

But I call upon God as witness, on my life, that it was sparing you that I did not come again to Corinth.

οὐχ ὅτι κυριεύομεν ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως, ἀλλὰ συνεργοί ἐσμεν τῆς χαρᾶς ὑμῶν, τῇ γὰρ πίστει ἑστήκατε.

Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers of your joy; for by faith you stand.