2 Corinthians — Source text and reception
This edition brings the current native manuscript’s translation and textual/reception notes together by reference. Its source checks and reception claims are inherited from that manuscript; this website update is not a new linguistic or manuscript collation. No Hebrew counterpart or five-class comparison ratings have been invented.
Source guide and review record
SAINTS TRANSLATION
2 Corinthians
V1 working draft •
Complete working translation draft V1, chapters 1–13. Source coverage and a first editorial pass are complete; qualified independent linguistic review remains outstanding.
13 chapters • 256 verse rows
Reader’s guide
The three columns identify the verse, give its literal-smooth English translation from the declared Greek, and distinguish textual observations from attributed reception.
All 256 actual Greek source entries are represented in exact order. The accessed chapter 13 has thirteen entries: 13:12 includes both greetings commonly divided into 13:12–13, and source 13:13 is the blessing commonly called 13:14. No text is missing. The full number of conventional positions is 257; no artificial extra source verse is created.
Source basis and review scope
SBLGNT Greek running main text, Michael W. Holmes, ed. (2010), official Faithlife electronic file.
Sources, Method & Decisions
Source register
[G] SBL Greek New Testament, Michael W. Holmes, ed. (2010), official Faithlife electronic running text: 2 Corinthians. All Greek running-text entries 1:1–13:13 directly read before independent English drafting. Editorial comparison sigla not translated as words. No apparatus or manuscript collation claimed for this book. Primary Greek source; full book accessed. Source [G]. Accessed .
[CHR6] John Chrysostom, Homily 6 on Second Corinthians, §2; English translation by Talbot W. Chambers, NPNF first series, volume 12 (1889), New Advent. Directly read discussion of 3:3–6, letter, Spirit, and baptismal life. Selective reception only; not used as the base of the biblical English. Patristic reception in published English translation; Greek homily not collated. Source [CHR6]. Accessed .
[CHR19] John Chrysostom, Homily 19 on Second Corinthians, discussion of 9:5–8, New Advent. Directly read explanation of voluntary, cheerful generosity and sufficiency for good works. Selective reception paraphrase only. Patristic reception in published English translation; Greek homily not collated. Source [CHR19]. Accessed .
[LIC] SBLGNT publisher license and attribution. Greek source copyright 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software; publisher states Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. This English working translation is a new adaptation, not a publisher translation or endorsement. Publisher rights statement directly accessed. Source [LIC]. Accessed .
Contextual term record
ekklēsia / hagioi → Church / saints. Community and holy people; saints is not restricted to later canonized individuals.
paraklēsis / parakaleō → comfort; appeal; encouragement. Context determines the sense; the repeated comfort sequence in chapter 1 is kept visible.
arrabōn → pledge. Initial installment or guarantee; used of the Spirit at 1:22 and 5:5.
diakonia / diakonos → ministry / minister. Service vocabulary; distinct from slave, doulos, at 4:5.
katargeō → bring to an end. In chapter 3; render ineffective and fading are contextual alternatives.
katoptrizomai → behold as in a mirror. Chosen at 3:18; reflecting remains a significant alternative.
katallagē / katallassō → reconciliation / reconcile. The repeated word family in 5:18–20 is preserved.
charis → grace; thanks. The gift, favor, and thanksgiving senses are context-sensitive, especially chapters 8–9.
haplotēs → generosity; simplicity. Generosity in giving; undivided devotion at 11:3.
isotēs → equality. Mutual abundance and lack in 8:13–14; fairness is another rendering.
apostolos → apostle; envoy. Apostle for Paul’s commission, envoy for those sent by Churches at 8:23.
adokimos / dokimos → unapproved / approved. Test and proof vocabulary in chapter 13; not expanded into an unstated final verdict.
Material decisions
English was independently drafted from the entire actually accessed Greek running text, without revising a modern English Bible.
The source’s exact chapter 13 numbering is retained and mapped explicitly to the common fourteen-verse division.
Source-specific wording is retained at 1:12 (holiness), 8:7 (love from us in you), 12:9 (power without an explicit My), and 12:19 (all this time); final Amen is not added.
The ironic boasts in chapters 10–12 are marked through punctuation and explanatory notes, without deleting their sharp language or turning accusations into commands.
Quoted Scripture is translated as it occurs in the letter and is not harmonized to another book’s Hebrew wording.
Greek-only three-column format: verse, Greek–English Saints Priority, textual and reception notes. No artificial Hebrew comparison or five-class classifications.
Divine pronouns are capitalized where the referent is clear. Quantities in running translation are spelled out; verse labels retain digits. Pericope headings are editorial.
Patristic reception now covers every source verse entry through attributed commentary from Chrysostom; no comprehensive consensus or manuscript collation is claimed.
Open questions and remaining review
Qualified independent Greek review is required before this working draft is treated as a settled translation.
Review the veil and turning subjects in 3:13–18, beholding/reflecting at 3:18, and the appositional Lord, the Spirit construction.
Review the nakedness and clothing imagery in 5:1–4 and the sacrificial interpretation of sin at 5:21 without replacing the repeated source word.
Review the unusual love from us in you at 8:7, the purpose-clause attachment at 11:12, and the punctuation of the revelation phrase at 12:6–7.
The thorn at 12:7 is not diagnosed; its exact nature remains unstated in the source.
Version record
V1: First working translation of the declared scope under the updated Saints Translation reference.
first editorial pass: Full source directly read, independently translated, and source-specific wording and final numbering checked.
independent review: Pending; no specialist sign-off claimed.
source coverage: 256 of 256 actual Greek entries in exact order, covering all 257 conventional verse positions.
Verse-by-verse reception supplement
Tier A here means a directly checked primary work, with an exact passage locator, including a reliable published translation. It grades the traceability of the evidence, not universal agreement with the interpretation.
Every source verse entry now includes a brief attributed note from St John Chrysostom, Homilies on Second Corinthians, Homilies 1–30. English translation: Talbot W. Chambers, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, first series, volume 12, edited by Philip Schaff (Buffalo: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889), as presented by New Advent, revised and edited by Kevin Knight. The English commentary was checked; the Greek homilies were not collated. [Chrysostom homily index].
These are paraphrases of direct commentary, not quotations, apostolic cross-references, literary allusions, or a claim of patristic consensus. A verse range in a citation identifies a passage discussed together; it does not imply a separate paragraph devoted to each verse. Interpretive differences remain attributed to Chrysostom, including his reading at 4:4 and identification of the thorn at 12:7.
Coverage: all 256 source entries, representing 257 conventional verse positions. Source 13:12 includes conventional 13:12–13; source 13:13 corresponds to conventional 13:14. The notes cite conventional numbering where these differ. Homily 4 has a web heading incorrectly printed 1:25 over the lemma for 2:1.
This is a first-author reception layer for this book. Additional Fathers, saints, apostolic reuse, and Christian literary reception require separate verification; they are not claimed by these entries.