2 Corinthians 1:9

ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ κ. τ. λ.: nay, we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves; i.e., the danger was so great that the sentence of death had been already pronounced, as it were. ἀπόκριμα might mean “answer,” as the Revisers translate it (they give sentence, with the A.V., in their margin); cf. the verb ἀποκρίνειν. But in the other places where this rare word is found (e.g., Jos., Ant., xiv. 10, 6, and an inscription of 51 A.D., quoted by Deissmann, Neue Bibelstudien, p. 85) it stands for an official decision or sentence. Cf. κρίμα θανάτου, “the sentence of death” (Sir 41:3). The tense of ἐσχήκαμεν is noteworthy; it seems to be a kind of historical perfect, used like an aorist (cf. chap. 2 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 11:25; Revelation 5:7; Revelation 8:5, for a similar usage). ἵνα μὴ πεποιθότες κ. τ. λ.: i.e., “the gravity of the danger was such as to impress upon me the vanity of putting my trust anywhere save in God, who has the power of life and death”. God can “raise the dead” (see chap. 2 Corinthians 4:14); much more can He bring back the dying from the gates of death.