2 Corinthians 12:1-6
THE APOSTLE'S VISION: IF HE CHOSE, HE COULD BOAST OF IT.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APOSTLE'S VISION: IF HE CHOSE, HE COULD BOAST OF IT.... [ Continue Reading ]
With Tisch., W.H. and the R.V. we adopt the reading (see crit. notes): καυχᾶσθαι δεῖ · οὐ συμφέρον μέν, ἐλεύσομαι δὲ κ. τ. λ.: _I must needs glory, though it is not expedient_ (_sc._, my opponents drive me to it); _but I will come to visions_ such as were seen by Daniel (2 Corinthians 10:1), which w... [ Continue Reading ]
οἶδα ἄνθρ. ἐν Χρ. κ. τ. λ.: _I know_ (not “I knew” as the A.V. has it) _a man in Christ, i.e._, a Christian (see reff.), _fourteen years ago_ (for the constr. πρὸ ἐτ. δεκ. _cf._ John 12:1) _whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of the body, I know not_ (the words distinctly indicate St. Pa... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ οἶδα τὸν τοιοῦτον κ. τ. λ.: _and I know such a man_ (he speaks with such caution and reticence of this momentous event in his spiritual life that he will not even describe it in the first person) … _how that he was caught up into Paradise_ (see previous note), _and heard unspeakable words which... [ Continue Reading ]
ὑπὲρ τοῦ τοιούτου κ. τ. λ.: _on behalf of such an one will I glory, but on mine own behalf, i.e._, of myself in my normal state, _I will not glory save in my weaknesses_, as he has already done, 2 Corinthians 11:23 ff.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐὰν γὰρ θελήσω καυχ. κ. τ. λ.: we must supply a suppressed clause: “And yet, as you see, if I _did_ choose to boast, I should keep within the truth” is the sense. _For if I should desire to glory, I shall not be foolish_ (_cf._ 2 Corinthians 11:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:11), _for I shall speak the trut... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ τῇ ὑπερβ. τῶν ἀποκ. If we read διό, these words ought either to be taken with the concluding words of 2 Corinthians 12:6 (as by W.H.), or regarding 2 Corinthians 12:6 as a parenthesis with 2 Corinthians 12:5 (as by Lachmann). Neither gives a satisfactory sense, and we therefore follow the R.V. i... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS “THORN IN THE FLESH”.... [ Continue Reading ]
ὑπὲρ τούτου τρὶς κ. τ. λ.: _concerning this thing_ (or “this angel”; for ὑπέρ = “concerning” see on 2 Corinthians 1:8) _I besought the Lord, i.e._, Christ (see 2 Corinthians 12:9), _thrice that it_ (or “he”) _might depart from me_. “Thrice” seems to point to three special occasions, when his prayers... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ εἴρηκέ μοι κ. τ. λ.: _and He hath said_ (note the perf. as expressing the abiding validity of the Divine promise; so often in quotations from the O.T., _e.g._, Acts 13:34; Hebrews 4:4; Hebrews 10:9) _to me, “My grace is sufficient for thee_ (_cf._ Isaiah 43:2), _for My power is being made perfec... [ Continue Reading ]
διὸ εὐδοκῶ κ. τ. λ.: _wherefore I am well content in_ (for εὐδοκεῖν ἐν _cf._ 2 Samuel 22:20; Matthew 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:5) _weaknesses, in insults_ (ὕβρις is used for “injury” to a ship in Acts 27:10; Acts 27:21; it does not occur elsewhere in N.T.; but _cf._ ὑβρίζειν, Acts 14:5; 1 Thessalonians... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FOREGOING TESTIMONY TO HIS CLAIMS OUGHT TO HAVE COME FROM THE CORINTHIANS WHO WITNESSED HIS APOSTOLIC LABOURS.... [ Continue Reading ]
γέγονα ἄφρων · ὑμεῖς κ. τ. λ.: _I am become foolish, sc._, boasting thus: _ye compelled me, i.e._, it was your doing; _for I ought to have been commended by you_ (_cf._ 2 Corinthians 3:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1), _i.e._, you should not have left it to me to speak my own praises: _for in nothing was I beh... [ Continue Reading ]
τὰ μὲν σημεῖα κ. τ. λ.: _truly_ (there is no antithesis to μέν) _the signs of an Apostle_ (τοῦ is generic, “such as might be expected from an Apostle”; _cf._ Mark 16:20) _were wrought_ (note the passive; he does not claim to be anything more than God's instrument; οὐδέν ἐστι) _among you in all patie... [ Continue Reading ]
τί γάρ ἐστιν ὃ ἡσσ. κ. τ. λ.: _for what is there wherein ye were treated as inferior_ (_cf._ 2 Peter 2:19) _to the rest of the churches, except indeed that I myself did not burden you? Cf._ Acts 20:33; 1 Corinthians 9:12 and 2 Corinthians 12:16. The emphatic αὐτὸς ἐγώ may indicate that it was only h... [ Continue Reading ]
ἰδοὺ τρίτον τοῦτο κ. τ. λ.: _behold this is the third time that I am ready to come to you_. While these words only express that he had been _ready_ to go twice before, they are quite consistent with the hypothesis, required by 2 Corinthians 13:1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2:1 (see _Introd._, p. 5), that he... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT HE DID NOT CLAIM MAINTENANCE AT CORINTH WAS DISINTERESTED ON HIS PART.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐγὼ δὲ ἥδιστα κ. τ. λ.: _and I will most gladly spend and be wholly spent for your souls' sake_ (_cf._ chap. 2 Corinthians 1:6; Romans 9:3; Philippians 2:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Timothy 2:10 for the like expressions of unselfish devotion). ψυχή is here used (as at Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:11) of... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔστω δὲ κ. τ. λ.: _but he it so! I did not myself burden you_ (_cf._ 2 Corinthians 11:9 and 2 Corinthians 12:13). This the Corinthians grant as indisputable, but they allege a sinister reason, _viz., being crafty_ (for ὑπάρχων see on 2 Corinthians 8:17) _I caught you_ (see on 2 Corinthians 11:20) _w... [ Continue Reading ]
μή τινα ὧν κ. τ. λ.: _of those whom_ (ὧν by attraction for ἐκείνων οὕς) _I have sent, was there one by whom I took advantage of you?_ The constr. is broken, and the resulting anacoluthon is one of the most striking in St. Paul's writings (_cf._ Romans 8:3; Galatians 1:20).... [ Continue Reading ]
παρεκάλεσα Τίτον κ. τ. λ.: _I exhorted Titus_ (see on 2 Corinthians 8:6), _and I sent the brother with him_. This was the mission from which Titus' return is recorded above (2 Corinthians 7:6), We do not know the name of his companion; but it is highly probable that Titus and this ἀδελφός are the ἀδ... [ Continue Reading ]
πάλαι f1δοκεῖτε κ. τ. λ.: _ye are thinking this long time_ (_i.e._, since they read 2 Corinthians 11:1 ff.; for πάλαι _cf._ Matthew 11:21; Hebrews 1:1; 2 Peter 1:9) _that we are excusing ourselves to you_, which is very far from his intention (_cf._ 1 Corinthians 4:3). On the contrary, _in the sight... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS GLORYING HAS NOT BEEN BY WAY OF APOLOGY, BUT TO EDIFY THEM UNTO REPENTANCE.... [ Continue Reading ]
φοβοῦμαι γὰρ κ. τ. λ.: _for I fear lest by any means, when I come, I should find you not such as I would, and should myself be found of you such as ye would not, i.e._, indignant to severity at their backsliding (_cf._ 2 Corinthians 10:2), _lest by any means there should be strife_ (_cf._ 1 Corinthi... [ Continue Reading ]
μὴ πάλιν ἐλθόντος μου κ. τ. λ.: _lest when I come, my God should humble me again before you, sc._, because of the scanty fruit of his preaching (as had been the case on his _second_ visit), _and I should mourn for many_ (observe, not “all”) _that have sinned heretofore, i.e._, before my second visit... [ Continue Reading ]