2 Corinthians 12

Syntactic observation

οἶδα ἄνθρωπον ἐν Χριστῷ πρὸ ἐτῶν δεκατεσσάρων— εἴτε ἐν σώματι οὐκ οἶδα, εἴτε ἐκτὸς τοῦ σώματος οὐκ οἶδα, ὁ θεὸς οἶδεν— ἁρπαγέντα τὸν τοιοῦτον ἕως τρίτου οὐρανοῦ. καὶ οἶδα τὸν τοιοῦτον ἄνθρωπον— εἴτε ἐν σώματι εἴτε χωρὶς τοῦ σώματος οὐκ οἶδα, ὁ θεὸς οἶδεν— ὅτι ἡρπάγη εἰς τὸν παράδεισον καὶ ἤκουσεν ἄρρητα ῥήματα — I know a man in Christ … whether in the body I do not know, or outside the body I do not know, God knows — such a one snatched up as far as the third heaven … whether in the body or apart from the body … snatched up into paradise and heard unspeakable words. οἶδα seven times in vv.2-4 — three knowings, four not-knowings. Paul tells his own matter in the third person, ‘such a one’. ἐκτός (v.2, ‘outside’) and χωρίς (v.3, ‘apart from’) are different words (⸀ — the Received Text has ἐκτός both times). ἁρπάζω is the verb of John 10:12, the wolf that snatches. ἄρρητα ῥήματα (v.4) pair by sound — ‘unspeakable words’. παράδεισος is the paradise of Luke 23:43.

Rendering options · 3

Lost in translation

Syntactic observation

καὶ τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῶν ἀποκαλύψεων. διὸ ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι, ἐδόθη μοι σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί, ἄγγελος Σατανᾶ, ἵνα με κολαφίζῃ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι — and by the excess of the revelations. Therefore, so that I might not be over-exalted, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to strike me with fists — so that I might not be over-exalted. ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι comes at both ends of the verse (⸂⸃ — a reading omits the second). σκόλοψ (once in the New Testament) is a ‘pointed stake’ word, but English and Korean give it the same word as ἄκανθα, ‘thorn’ (Matt 7:16). ἐδόθη is a passive without agent — who gave it, the text does not say. κολαφίζω is the verb of Matt 26:67, the fists struck at Jesus. In v.8 τρίς pairs with the counts of 11:25. ὑπερβολή is the word of 4:7, ‘the excess of the power’.

Rendering options · 3

Lost in translation

Syntactic observation

καὶ εἴρηκέν μοι· Ἀρκεῖ σοι ἡ χάρις μου· ἡ γὰρ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελεῖται. ἥδιστα οὖν μᾶλλον καυχήσομαι ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις μου, ἵνα ἐπισκηνώσῃ ἐπ’ ἐμὲ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ … ὅταν γὰρ ἀσθενῶ, τότε δυνατός εἰμι — and he has said to me, “My grace is enough for you; for power is completed in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may pitch its tent upon me … for when I am weak, then I am powerful. εἴρηκεν is a perfect — the word once spoken still stands. The base text reads ἡ δύναμις (⸀ — the Received Text ‘my power’) and τελεῖται (⸀ — the Received Text ‘is made perfect’). ἐπισκηνόω (once in the New Testament) is the σκηνόω, ‘pitch a tent’, of John 1:14 with ἐπι-. ἥδιστα (vv.9, 15 — two places, both here) is the superlative of ἡδέως, ‘gladly’ (11:19). In this chapter ἀσθένεια four times, ἀσθενέω once, δύναμις three times — weakness and power trade places within one verse (v.10). In v.10 ὕβρις is one word with the ship’s ‘injury’ of Acts 27:10; here ‘insults’.

Rendering options · 3

Lost in translation

Syntactic observation

Ἰδοὺ τρίτον τοῦτο ἑτοίμως ἔχω ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ οὐ καταναρκήσω· οὐ γὰρ ζητῶ τὰ ὑμῶν ἀλλὰ ὑμᾶς, οὐ γὰρ ὀφείλει τὰ τέκνα τοῖς γονεῦσιν θησαυρίζειν, ἀλλὰ οἱ γονεῖς τοῖς τέκνοις. ἐγὼ δὲ ἥδιστα δαπανήσω καὶ ἐκδαπανηθήσομαι ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν … ἔστω δέ, ἐγὼ οὐ κατεβάρησα ὑμᾶς· ἀλλὰ ὑπάρχων πανοῦργος δόλῳ ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον — Look, this third time … I will not be a burden; for I do not seek your things but you. For children ought not to store up for parents, but parents for children … I will most gladly spend and be spent out for your lives … I did not weigh you down; but, being crafty, I caught you by deceit. τὰ ὑμῶν / ὑμᾶς set neuter plural against person; τέκνα / γονεῖς change places twice (chiasmus). δαπανήσω · ἐκδαπανηθήσομαι (once in the New Testament) are one verb with ἐκ- and the passive added — ‘spend and be spent out’. In v.16 καταβαρέω (once) differs by prefix from the ἐπιβαρέω, ‘burden’, of 2:5. πανοῦργος (once) is the adjective of πανουργία, ‘craftiness’ (4:2); δόλῳ is the deceit of Mark 7:22. The second half of v.16 is the opponents’ charge, unmarked. In v.18 συναποστέλλω (once) is a different ‘send with’ from the συμπέμπω of 8:18.

Rendering options · 3

Lost in translation

Syntactic observation

φοβοῦμαι γὰρ μή πως ἐλθὼν οὐχ οἵους θέλω εὕρω ὑμᾶς, κἀγὼ εὑρεθῶ ὑμῖν οἷον οὐ θέλετε, μή πως ἔρις, ζῆλος, θυμοί, ἐριθεῖαι, καταλαλιαί, ψιθυρισμοί, φυσιώσεις, ἀκαταστασίαι· μὴ πάλιν ἐλθόντος μου ταπεινώσῃ με ὁ θεός μου πρὸς ὑμᾶς — for I fear lest somehow, when I come, I find you not such as I want, and I be found by you such as you do not want — lest there be strife, jealousy, rages, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, puffings up, upheavals; lest, when I come again, my God should humble me before you … οἵους / οἷον pair as ‘such as’, and εὕρω / εὑρεθῶ set active against passive. The list of eight vices stands without a verb — the first four are the words of Rom 1:29 and 13:13 (strife · jealousy · rage · selfish ambition); of the last four, ψιθυρισμός and φυσίωσις occur once (the nouns of the whisperer of Rom 1:29 and the ‘puffed up’ of 1 Cor 4:6). In v.19 Πάλαι (⸀ — the Received Text reads Πάλιν, ‘again’) is ‘all along’. In v.21 προαμαρτάνω (here; 13:2) is ‘sin beforehand’.

Rendering options · 3

Lost in translation