2 Corinthians 9:4 - Exposition

They of Macedonia; rather, Macedonians; i.e. any friends from Macedonia ( Acts 20:4 ). Shall Achaians have to blush before Macedonians? We, that we say not ye. Nothing can exceed the delicacy of this touch. St. Paul asks them to be ready with their contributions for his sake, not for their own; that he may not have to blush for his generous words respecting them, whereas really the discredit would be simply theirs. Confident boasting; rather, confidence . The reading "of boasting" is not genuine here. For the word hypostasis in the sense of "confidence," see 2 Corinthians 11:17 ; Hebrews 3:4 . The use of the word to represent the "Persons" of the Blessed Trinity is later. The other sense of the word, "substance" (or underlying base of attributes), is found in Hebrews 1:3 .