3:7 in (g-8) Epi with a dative. Here, and in 2 Corinthians 7:7 , the apostle states what gave occasion for comfort to him -- the circumstance, not the cause. It is a similar construction in ver. 9. 'for all the joy.' We can say 'for' perhaps there, but it is the occasion of his thanksgiving; his thanksgiving was conditional; that was necessary to it as a condition precedent.

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