UTN uW Translation Notes:

2 Corinthians 6 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

4. Paul’s ministry (2:14–7:4) * The gospel (5:11–6:2) * Proofs of ministry (6:3–10) * Join with fellow believers, not unbelievers (6:11–7:4)Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with the quotations from the Old Testament in 6:2 and 6:16–18.

Special Concepts in this Chapter

Commendation of ministry

In 6:3–4, Paul tells the Corinthians that he avoids doing anything that would cause offense and lead to people blaming ministry. In fact, he and his fellow workers “commend themselves” in many ways, and he provides a list of those ways in 6:4–10. Paul commends their ministry in this way because other people in Corinth were claiming that Paul was not a good apostle or minister for Christ. They claimed that they were better ministers for Christ. Paul responds here by listing what he and his fellow workers do and experience as true ministers of Christ. Make sure that you express the list so that it shows that Paul and those with him are true ministers of Christ.

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

“Weapons of righteousness”

In 6:7, Paul states that he and his fellow workers have “weapons of righteousness” for both hands. He could mean that righteousness: (1) is the weapons (2) is defended by the weapons (3) characterizes the weapons. Also the idea that the weapons are for both hands could indicate that: (1) Paul and his fellow workers have an offensive weapon in one hand and a defensive weapon in the other hand (2) Paul and his fellow workers can defend against enemies coming from any direction. Paul does not state whom he is fighting against with these weapons, but it is probably sin, evil powers, and people who oppose his ministry. See the notes on this verse for translation options.

Opening the heart

In 6:11–13, Paul speaks about opening the heart and, in contrast, being restricted. He is speaking about loving other people as if it were an open heart and failing to love other people as it were a restriction in one’s insides. If your culture can express the idea of love by referring to where in their bodies people feel love, you could do so in these verses. Otherwise, you could use a comparable metaphor or plain language. See the notes on these verses for translation options.

The temple of the living God

In 6:16, Paul claims that believers are the temple of the living God. In the last part of the verse, he quotes from the Old Testament to prove that this is true. This quotation also shows that the identification of God’s people with the temple indicates that God is with his people and treats them as his people. Since the temple is a very important part of Paul’s culture, you should preserve the temple language. If your readers would not understand the metaphor, you could express it as a simile or explain it in a footnote. See the notes on this verse for translation options.

Rhetorical questions

In 6:14–16, Paul asks five questions, and each question assumes that the answer is “none” or “nothing.” Paul asks these questions to include the Corinthians in what he is arguing, not because he is looking for information. If your language does not use questions in this way, you could include answers to the questions, or you could express them as negative statements. See the notes on these verses for translation options. (See: figs-rquestion)

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter

The long list in 6:4–10

These verses contain one long list of the situations and ways in which Paul and his fellow workers commend their ministry. This list is divided into three parts. Each part uses a repeated form for each item. The first part uses the word “in” (6:4–7a), the second part uses the word “through” (6:7b–8a), and the third part uses the words “as” and “yet” or “but” (6:8b–10). If possible, represent these parts in your language by using repeated words or some other natural form. Consider whether a long list like this would be natural in your language. The UST models one possible way to divide the list up into shorter sentences.

Exclusive “we”

Throughout this chapter, Paul uses the first person plural. When he uses this form, he is focusing on himself and his fellow workers, or just on himself (although this is less likely). (See: figs-exclusive)