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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
2 Cor C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13
2 Cor 8 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24
OET (OET-LV) Because our indeed appeal he_received, but more_earnest being voluntary, he_came_out to you_all.
OET (OET-RV) because indeed he accepted our appeal, but being so earnest he volunteered to visit you all.
In this section, Paul told the believers in Corinth that Titus had gone to them (8:16–17) to help them prepare the gift for Paul to take (9:5). An unnamed believer went along with Titus, and Paul described his standing in other churches (8:18–19b). Then Paul described how they intended to be careful regarding this gift (8:19c–21). Paul referred to another unnamed believer who was going with Titus (8:22). He described the standing of Titus and the two believers going with him (8:23) and encouraged the believers in Corinth to treat them well (8:24).
Then Paul reminded the believers in Corinth of their own attitudes regarding this gift (9:1–2) and his goal (9:3–4).
Other examples for this section heading are:
The delegates recommended to the Corinthians (NJB)
Paul commended Titus and his companions
Titus and his companions came to help finish collecting the gift
For not only did he welcome our appeal, but he is eagerly coming to you of his own volition: The Greek words indicate that Titus did both things (welcome our appeal and is…coming). But the grammar also emphasizes that Titus came to Corinth with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative (8:17b). In some languages emphasizing the second deed is expressed in a different way. For example:
For Titus welcomed our appeal, and more importantly, he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative
He certainly took our urging to heart; but greater still was his own enthusiasm, and he went off to you of his own accord (NJB)
Titus welcomed our appeal, indeed, he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative
Titus welcomed our appeal, and more than that, he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative
For not only did he welcome our appeal,
For he was happy to say yes to the request to return to you(plur);
For he gladly agreed to the encouragement to go again to you.
For: This conjunction introduces a sentence that shows Titus’ attitude toward the believers in Corinth. In some languages it is more natural to allow the context to indicate the connection and omit the conjunction.
our appeal: The Greek words are literally “the encouragement.” Scholars think that Paul and perhaps his coworkers encouraged or asked Titus to go to Corinth.
appeal: Here the word appeal refers to Paul and the other evangelists encouraging or asking Titus to return to Corinth. For example:
request (GNT)
but he is eagerly coming to you of his own volition.
indeed, he himself decided to return to you and is doing so with great eagerness.
And more than that, he is very earnest about this and now comes/came back to you by his own choice/deciding.
he is eagerly coming: The Greek reads literally “he eagerly went out.” Titus probably took this letter (2 Corinthians) with him. So he left soon after Paul finished writing it.
In some languages the verb “went out” should indicate that Titus would leave after Paul wrote the letter. For example:
he is now leaving to come (REB)
he is going to you (RSV)
In other languages the verb “went out” should indicate that when the believers in Corinth read this letter, Titus had left Paul. He probably took the letter with him to Corinth. For example:
he has gone (NASB)
he went (NJB)
eagerly: The Greek words are literally “more eager/diligent.” There are several ways to interpret the Greek comparative:
Here the comparative indicates that Titus was very enthusiastic. For example:
he himself was very eager (NLT) (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NASB, NABRE, ESV, NLT, CEV, NET, REB, NCV, ESV)
Here the tense indicates that Titus was more enthusiastic than Paul expected in response to the request in 8:17a. For example:
he is more eager than ever (NRSV) (NJB, NRSV, KJV)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).Harris (p. 596) translates the Greek word as “extremely zealous.” Martin (p. 271) translates it as “all eagerness.” Kistemaker (p. 291), Hughes (on TW), and Furnish (p. (420) also support interpretation (1) in their translations. But Thrall translates the text as “more zealous” and says it probably indicates a comparison of being more enthusiastic than the enthusiasm of saying yes to Paul asking him to help the believers in this way (p. 546).
The word eagerly refers to a strong desire to do something. Other ways to translate this word are:
earnest (RSV)
with much enthusiasm (NIV)
of his own volition: This phrase indicates that Titus decided on his own to do this. Before anyone suggested it to him, he decided that he wanted to go back to Corinth and help the believers in this way. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
of his own accord (NJB)
of his own free will (GNT)
this was his own idea (NCV)
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
ὅτι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι τήν μέν παράκλησιν ἐδέξατο σπουδαιότερος δέ ὑπάρχων αὐθαίρετος ἐξῆλθεν πρός ὑμᾶς)
Here, the word For introduces an explanation of one way in which Titus showed the “earnestness” that Paul referred to in the previous verse ([8:16](../08/16.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces an explanation or basis for a previous statement. Alternate translation: [In fact,] or [For example,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τὴν & παράκλησιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι τήν μέν παράκλησιν ἐδέξατο σπουδαιότερος δέ ὑπάρχων αὐθαίρετος ἐξῆλθεν πρός ὑμᾶς)
Here Paul implies that the appeal was for Titus to visit the Corinthians. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea more explicitly. Alternate translation: [our appeal that he visit you]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / go
ἐξῆλθεν
˱he˲_came_out
Most likely, Titus and those who traveled with him took this letter to the Corinthians. In a context such as this, your language might say “come” instead of gone. Alternate translation: [he has come]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / pastforfuture
ἐξῆλθεν
˱he˲_came_out
Most likely, Titus and those who traveled with him took this letter from Paul to the Corinthians. Use whatever tense is most natural for referring to this action. Alternate translation: [he is going] or [he went]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
αὐθαίρετος
voluntary
Here, the phrase of his own accord indicates that no one forced or required Titus to act as he did. Rather, he chose to do so on his own. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable expression. See you how translated the similar phrase in [8:3](../08/03.md). Alternate translation: [of his own free will] or [because he wanted to]
OET (OET-LV) Because our indeed appeal he_received, but more_earnest being voluntary, he_came_out to you_all.
OET (OET-RV) because indeed he accepted our appeal, but being so earnest he volunteered to visit you all.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.