2 Corinthians 2:1-7:16 WEB

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Corinthians 2:1-3

2 Corinthians 2:1-3. But I, &c. The apostle proceeds with his apology, begun in the preceding chapter, for delaying his visit to the Corinthians, and signifies that he had deferred it because he had determined with himself not to come among them with sorrow, by punishing the guilty, if he could by any means avoid it; and therefore, instead of coming to punish them, he had written to them, that he might have joy from their repentance: and in excuse for the severity of his first letter,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:1-4

1:12-2:17 PAUL EXPLAINS HIS RECENT ACTIONSReasons for changing his plans (1:12-2:4)Certain people in Corinth had accused Paul of insincerity. According to them, Paul tried to give the impression through his conduct and his letters that he felt in a certain way, when he did not feel that way at all. Paul denies this. In all his behaviour, whether in dealing with people in general or in dealing with the Corinthians in particular, he has been sincere and straightforward. The same is true of his... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 2 Corinthians 2:1

determined = judged, or decided. Greek. krino . App-122 . that I would not cot to. not . Greek. me . App-105 . to = unto. Greek. pros . App-104 . in. Greek. en . App-104 . heaviness = sorrow or grief. Greek. lupe , translated "sorrow" in verses: 2Co 2:3 , 2 Corinthians 2:7 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 2:1

2 COR. 2The apostle Paul wrote much like some people talk; one thing led to another; and he often digressed from a line of thought, coming back to it only after a parenthetical discussion of something else. This trip through 2Corinthians is as exciting as a drive down Oak Creek canyon, with one sensational view following another. Paul concluded his explanation of the change in his plans (2 Corinthians 2:1-4), recommended leniency to the Corinthians in a disciplinary problem (2 Corinthians... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Corinthians 2:1

2 Corinthians 2:1. For—I would not come again, &c.— "I purposed in myself, it is true, to come to you again; but I resolved too that it should be without bringing sorrow with me." That this is the meaning of this verse, and not that he would not come to them in sorrow a second time, is past doubt, since he had never been with them in sorrow a first time. See ch. 2 Corinthians 1:15. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 2 Corinthians 2:1

1. with myself—in contrast to "you" (2 Corinthians 1:23). The same antithesis between Paul and them appears in 2 Corinthians 1:23- :. not come again . . . in heaviness—"sorrow"; implying that he had already paid them one visit in sorrow since his coming for the first time to Corinth. At that visit he had warned them "he would not spare if he should come again" (see on 2 Corinthians 1:23- :; compare 2 Corinthians 12:14; 2 Corinthians 13:1). See 2 Corinthians 13:1- : to the first Epistle. The "in... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 2 Corinthians 2:1

The chapter division is artificial. Paul now clarified what he did mean in 2 Corinthians 1:23. When had Paul come to them in sorrow? There is no valid basis for describing his first visit to Corinth, during which he established the church, as a sorrowful one. He had experienced some hard times during the 18 months (Acts 18:11) he was there, but generally this visit was pleasant. Paul later referred to his next visit to Corinth as his third (2 Corinthians 12:14; 2 Corinthians 13:1). Consequently... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 2:1-17

(b) 2:8-13. The Object and Results of the severe LetterThe Apostle reminds them that to produce this godly sorrow was the object of the letter he wrote before. He then speaks of one man who has caused him pain, asking them to remit the punishment inflicted already and forgive him, and telling them that he had written also to ascertain the extent of their obedience, and that if they were willing to forgive now, so was he. He then relates his anxious desire to hear what had occurred on their... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 2 Corinthians 2:1

II.(1) But I determined this with myself.—Better, I determined for myself. The chapter division is here obviously wrong, and interrupts the sequence of thought. St. Paul continues his explanation. He did not wish to come again, i.e., to make his second visit to Corinth, in grief, and if he had carried out his first plan that would have been the almost inevitable result. He consulted his own feelings (“for myself”) as well as theirs. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 2 Corinthians 2:1-17

Forewarned, Forearmed 2 Corinthians 2:11 'Knowledge is power,' said Lord Bacon; and to know some of the subtleties of that malevolent power that fights against us, is so far to be forearmed. Paul does not tell us what the devices were. But probably the devices of today are very much the same as in Paul's time. We are not ignorant of his devices what, then, are some of these? I. Firstly, he labels evil things with pleasant names. There is a tendency in all language to do that. No man has ever... read more