3. I speak not (this) to condemn (you): for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with (you).

I speak not this to condemn you; i.e. In defending myself I do not mean to condemn you. This may mean either, ‘In saying that I have wronged no man, I do not intend to imply that you have wronged me;’ or, ‘I do not mean to imply that you think of me so unjustly as to suppose that I have wronged, injured or defrauded any one.’ In other words, ‘I do not mean to question your love.’ For. What follows assigns the reason or proof that he had no unkind feeling towards them which would lead him to condemn them. I said before, viz., in 6:12, that ye are in our hearts. That is, that I love you. He had said that his heart was enlarged towards them, which was proof enough that he did not now mean to upbraid them. To die and live with you, εἰς τὸ συναποθανεῖν καὶ συζῆν, so as to die and live together. That is, ‘Ye are so rooted in my heart that I would gladly live and die with you,’ or, ‘so that neither death nor life can separate us.’ As remarked above, Paul’s love for the Corinthians seems to have been extraordinary, having something of the nature of a passion, being more ardent than either their good qualities or their conduct towards him could account for. This is often the case in men of warm and generous feeling, who have frequently to say, ‘The more abundantly we love, the less we are loved.’

4. Great (is) my boldness of speech toward you, great (is) my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

So far from having any disposition to upbraid or to recriminate, his heart was overflowing with far different feelings. He had not only confidence in them, he was proud of them; he was not only comforted, he was filled with exceeding joy. There is a climax here, as Calvin says: Gradatim procedit amplificando: plus enim est gloriari, quam securo et quietc esse animo: liberari vero a moerore ex multis afflictionibus concepto, utroque majus. His boasting of them was more than having confidence in them; and his rejoicing in the midst of his afflictions was more than being comforted. Great is my boldness of speech towards you. The word is παῤῥησία, which here, as in many other places, Eph. 3:12; Heb. 3:6; 1 John 2:28, 3:21, 4:17, 5:14, instead of its primary sense of freedom of speech, expresses the idea of joyful confidence; i.e. the state of mind from which freedom of utterance, or boldness of speech, flows. Paul means to say that so far from wishing to condemn the Corinthians he had joyful confidence in them. And not only that, he adds, but, Great is my glorying of you, (καύχησις,) i.e. my boasting over you. The accounts which the apostle had just received of the state of things at Corinth, and especially of the effect produced by his former letter, had not only obliterated his feelings of anxiety and doubt concerning them, but made him boast of them. He gloried on their account. He was disposed to tell every one how well his dear Corinthians had behaved. He thus, as it were, unconsciously lays bare the throbbings of his warm and generous heart. I am filled with comfort, literally, ‘with the comfort,’ i.e. the comfort to which he afterwards refers; or the comfort which his situation specially demanded. Such was the apostle’s anxiety about the effect of his former letter that, as he says, 2:12, “he had no rest in his spirit,” and therefore left Troas and hastened into Macedonia that he might meet Titus on his way back from Corinth. This anxiety was now all gone. His mind was at rest. He was full of consolation. I am exceedingly joyful, (ὑπερπερισσεύομαι τῇ χαρᾷ,) I more than abound in joy, or the joy. Comp. Rom. 5:20. He was more than merely comforted, he was overflowing with joy, and that too in spite of all the troubles which still pressed upon him, for he adds, in all our tribulation. The favourable accounts which Paul had received from Corinth, although they had removed some of the causes of his anxiety and suffering, left others in their full force. So that even when he wrote he was in great trouble. He therefore uses the present tense. ‘I am overflowing with joy in the midst of tribulation.’ Another proof that joy and sorrow may coexist in the mind. The martyr at the stake, in the midst of his agony, has often been filled with ecstatic joy.

5. For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without (were) fightings, within (were) fears.

The connection is with the last clause of the preceding verse. I was comforted in tribulation, for also (καὶ γάρ) having come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest. Paul did not leave his troubles behind him in Troas, 2:12, but also in Macedonia his flesh had no rest. By flesh he does not mean his body, for the sufferings, which he immediately specifies, were not corporeal, but mental. It stands for his whole sensitive nature considered as frail. It is equivalent to saying, ‘my feeble nature had no rest.’ The same idea is expressed in 2:12 by saying, “I had no rest in my spirit.” But, so far from having rest, we were troubled (θλιβόμενοι, either ἤμεθα is to be supplied, or a slight departure from the regular construction is to be assumed) on every side, ἐν παντί, in every way. This is amplified and explained by saying, without (were) fightings, within fears. Calvin and many other commentators understand within and without to mean within and without the church. Paul’s troubles were partly from his contentions with the Jews and heathen, and partly from his anxieties about the conduct and welfare of Christians. It is more common and natural to understand the distinction to be between inward and outward troubles. He had to contend with all kinds of outward difficulties, and was oppressed with an inward load of anxieties. Fears, painful apprehensions lest his labours should be vain, lest his enemies should at last prevail, lest his disciples should apostatize and perish, or the peace and purity of the church be disturbed.

6. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus.

The order of the words is inverted in the English version. In the Greek the order is, He who comforteth those who are cast down, comforted us, even God, by the coming of Titus. The fact that it is the characteristic work of God, or, so to speak, his office, to comfort the dejected, is thus made more prominent. All the miserable are thus encouraged, because they are miserable, to look to that God who proclaims himself as the comforter. It is to be remarked that the objects of his compassion, those who call forth the exercise of his power as a consoler, are described not by a term expressive of moral excellence, but by a word which simply designates them as sufferers. The ταπεινοί are properly simply the low, those who are in depressed circumstances. As, however, it is the tendency of such circumstances to render men fearful, or meek, or humble, the word often expresses one or the other of these states of mind. In 10:1 it means timid as opposed to bold; in 1 Pet. 5:5, it is the opposite of proud. Here, however, it has its simple, proper sense—those who are low, i.e. cast down by suffering so as to be the proper objects of compassion. Luke 1:52; James 1:9; Ps. 18:27. Paul says God comforted him by the coming of Titus, whom he had sent to Corinth to know the state of the church there.

7. And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.

It was not the pleasure of seeing Titus, so much as the intelligence which he brought, which comforted the apostle. By the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, (ἐφʼ ὑμιν,) in reference to, or, as concerns you. The fact that Titus was comforted in Corinth was a great consolation to the apostle, and he was made to share in the comfort which Titus had experienced, as the latter reported to him (ἰναγγέλλειν, to bring back word, to recount, Acts 14:27, 16:38,) your earnest desire, i.e. either your earnest desire to see me and to secure my approbation; or, your earnest desire to correct the evils existing among you. The former is to be preferred, both on account of the context and the signification of the word ἐπιπόθησις, which means strong affection. Your mourning, (ὀδυρμός, i.e. wailing, lamentation, Matt. 2:18,) either, mourning on account of their sins, or on account of having offended and pained the apostle. The latter is the more probable on account of what follows. Your fervent mind toward me, (ζῆλος ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ,) zeal for me, i.e. the great interest which you took in me. Gal. 4:17–18. As the zeal of which the apostle speaks is expressly said to be a zeal of which he was the object; it is probable that the preceding words (earnest desire and mourning) express their feeling and conduct in reference to him. What was so specially gratifying to him was that in a church in which he had met with so much opposition, and in which the false teachers had exerted so great and so evil an influence, the mass of the people proved themselves devoted to him. Devotion to Paul, however, involved devotion to the truth and holiness, just as zeal for the false teachers involved the opposite. So that I rejoiced the more, i.e. I had more joy than the mere coming of Titus and the satisfaction which he experienced in Corinth were able to impart.

8. For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though (it were) but for a season.

This and the following verses assign the reason why he rejoiced. It was because the letter which he had written them, although it made them sorry, yet did them good. Though I made you sorry (i.e. caused you grief) with a letter, rather, by the letter, i.e. the letter which related to the incestuous person. I do not repent, though I did repent. That is, he regretted writing as he had done until he learned through Titus the good effect his letter had produced. Calvin says the word μεταμέλομαι must not be taken here to express repentance, for that would imply that his former letter was written under the influence of human feeling, and not by the direction of the Holy Spirit. He thinks that all Paul meant to say is, that he was grieved at having given the Corinthians pain. This, however, is not the meaning of the word. See Matt. 21:29, 32. We must accommodate our theory of inspiration to the phenomena of Scripture, and not the phenomena to our theory. Inspiration simply rendered its subject infallible in writing and speaking as the messenger of God. Paul might doubt whether he had in a given instance made a wise use of his infallibility, as he might doubt whether he had wisely exercised his power of working miracles. He never doubted as to the truth of what he had written. There is another thing to be taken into consideration. Inspiration did not reveal itself in the consciousness. It is perfectly conceivable that a man might be inspired without knowing it. Paul was no doubt impelled by the Spirit to write his former epistle as well as divinely guided in writing; but all he was conscious of was his own thoughts and feelings. The believer is not conscious of the operations of grace, neither were the apostles conscious of inspiration. As the believer, however, may know that he is the subject of divine influence, so the apostles knew that they were inspired. But as the believer may doubt the wisdom of some of his holiest acts, so the apostles might doubt the wisdom of acts done under divine guidance. Such acts are always wise, but the agent may not always see their wisdom.

For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry. This gives the reason why he at first regretted having written. He knew that his letter had excited much feeling in Corinth, and until he learned the nature and effects of that feeling, he repented having written. Though but for a season. That is, although the sorrow which he had occasioned was only temporary, yet it made him regret his former letter. This interpretation supposes a different punctuation of the passage from that found either in the common editions of the Greek text, or in the English version. It supposes that the proper place for the period or colon is after “I did not repent,” and not after the following clause, “I did repent.” In this latter case the whole sense is different, and the latter clause of the verse (βλέπω γάρ) is connected with the first clause, and is intended to give the reason why he said he had made them sorry, and not the reason why he regretted having done so. The sense of the whole would then be, ‘I made you sorry … for I perceive from what I hear from Titus, that my former letter did, although only for a while, grieve you.’ The next verse then begins a new sentence. But this is an unnatural construction; it requires the verse to be paraphrased in order to bring out the sense; and after all it amounts to little to say, ‘I made you sorry, for I see I made you sorry.’ The construction is simpler and the sense better if we put a colon or semi-colon after “I do not repent,” and make v. 9 a part of the same sentence. ‘Though I made you sorry I do not repent: although I did repent, (for I see that my letter made you sorry, though only for a time,) I now rejoice.’ The meaning is, ‘Though I did repent, I now rejoice.’ Thus the passage is printed in the Greek of STIER and THIELE’S Polyglott, and, so far as the pointing is concerned, (omitting the marks of parenthesis,) in Tischendorf’s Greek Testament. In the Vulgate the same sense is expressed. “Quoniam etsi contristavi vos in epistola, non me pœnitet; et si pœniteret, videns quod epistola illa (etsi ad horam) vos contristavit, nune gaudeo, &c.” So also Luther.

9. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

He rejoiced, not in their grief, but that their grief led them to repentance. A parent, when he sees a child mourning over his sins, sincerely rejoices, however much he sympathizes in his grief. Sorrowed unto repentance, (είς μετάνοιαν,) i.e. change of mind, sometimes in the restricted sense of the word mind, (or purpose,) as in Heb. 12:17; generally, in the comprehensive sense of the word as including the principles and affections, the whole soul, or inward life. Matt. 3:8; Luke 5:32; Acts 5:31. Repentance, therefore, in its religious sense, is not merely a change of purpose, but includes a change of heart which leads to a turning from sin with grief and hatred thereof unto God. Such is the repentance here intended, as appears from what follows. For (this shows they sorrowed unto repentance) they were made sorry (they grieved) after a godly sort, (κατὰ θεόν,) i.e. in a manner agreeable to the mind and will of God; so that God approved of their sorrow. He saw that it arose from right views of their past conduct. That, (ἵνα, in order that,) as expressing the design of God in making their sorrow a sorrow unto repentance. Ye might receive damage by us in nothing. God had so ordered that Paul’s letter, instead of producing any injury, had resulted in the greatest spiritual good.

10. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

The connection is with the last clause. ‘Ye were not injured by us, for the sorrow we occasioned worked repentance.’ Sorrow in itself is not repentance; neither is remorse, nor self-condemnation, nor self-loathing, nor external reformation. These all are its attendants or consequences; but repentance itself (μετάνοια) is a turning from sin to holiness, from a state of sin to a holy state. It is a real change of heart. It is a change of views, feelings and purposes, resulting in a change of life. Godly sorrow worketh repentance, i.e. that sorrow on account of sin, which arises from proper apprehensions of God and of our relation to him, necessarily leads to that entire change in the inward life which is expressed by the word repentance, and which is connected with salvation. It is not the ground of our salvation; but it is a part of it and a necessary condition of it. Those who repent are saved; the impenitent perish. Repentance therefore is unto salvation. Comp. Acts 11:18. It is that inward change in which salvation largely consists. Never to be repented of. This may belong either to the repentance or to salvation. If to the latter, the word ἀμεταμέλητος may be taken in the sense of unchangeable. See Rom. 11:29. So the Vulgate explains it, ad salutem stabilem; or it may mean not to be regretted. Repentance leads to a salvation which no one ever will regret. So Luther and many of the moderns. The position of the words is in favour of connecting “not to be repented of” with “salvation.” Had Paul intended the other connection, he would have probably said εἰς μετάνοιαν ἀμετανοήτον, and not have chosen (ἀμεταμέλητον) a word of an entirely different root. Still, as “not to be repented of” seems to be an unsuitable epithet when applied to salvation, the majority of commentators prefer the other connection, and consider the apostle as designating true repentance as that which no one will regret notwithstanding the sorrow with which it is attended. But the sorrow of the world worketh death. By the sorrow of the world is not meant worldly sorrow, i.e. sorrow arising out of worldly considerations, but the sorrow of men of the world. In other words, κόσμου is the genitive of the subject, not a qualifying genitive. “The world” means men, the mass of mankind as distinguished from the church. 1 Cor. 1:20; Gal. 4:3; John 7:7, 14:7. &c. What therefore the apostle means is the sorrow of unrenewed men, the sorrow of the unsanctified heart. Of this sorrow, as opposed to godly sorrow, he says, it works death, not physical death, nor specifically eternal death as opposed to salvation, but evil in the general sense of the word. The effects of godly sorrow are salutary; the effects of worldly sorrow (the sorrow of worldly men) are evil. It is a great mistake to suppose that the natural tendency of pain and sorrow is to good. They tend rather to excite rebellion against God and all evil feelings. It is only when they are sanctified, i.e. when they are experienced by the holy, and are made by the Spirit of God to call into exercise the resignation, patience and faith of the sufferer, that they bring forth fruit unto righteousness. The natural element of holiness is happiness, and misery is the natural element of sin. They stand severally in the relation both of cause and effect. The more miserable you make a bad man, the worse you make him. The wicked are said to curse God while they gnaw their tongues with pain, and they repent not of their deeds. Rev. 16:10–11.

11. For behold this self-same thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, (what) clearing of yourselves, yea, (what) indignation, yea, (what) fear, yea, (what) vehement desire, yea, (what) zeal, yea, (what) revenge! In all (things) ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

The question may be asked whether Paul means here to describe the uniform effects of genuine repentance, so as to furnish a rule by which each one may judge of his own experience. This, to say the least, is not the primary design of the passage. If it affords such a rule it is only incidentally. The passage is historical. It describes the effects which godly sorrow produced in the Corinthian church. It shows how the church felt and acted in reference to a specific offence, when roused to a sense of its enormity. For, behold! The connection is with what precedes. ‘Godly sorrow is salutary, for, see what effects it wrought for you.’ This self-same thing, i.e. this very thing, viz., being sorry after a godly sort. What carefulness it wrought in you (ὑμῖν, for you, for your advantage). Carefulness, (σπουδήν,) literally, haste; then the inward feeling which leads to haste; then any outward manifestation of that earnestness of feeling. Here it means earnest solicitude as opposed both to indifference and neglect. The Corinthians had strangely allowed a grievous sin, committed by a church-member, to pass unnoticed, as a matter of no importance. The first effect or manifestation of their godly sorrow was an earnest solicitude on the subject, and a desire to have the evil corrected; the very opposite of their former indifference. It is so in all cases or repentance. Sins which had been regarded as of little account, are apprehended in their true character; and deep feeling takes the place of unconcern. Yea, what clearing of yourselves. The particle ἀλλά is here and through the verse rendered yea. It is used, as in 1:9, to indicate a gradation—still more. ‘Not only solicitude, but moreover clearing of yourselves,’ (ἀπολογίαν.) Their sorrow led them earnestly to apologize for the sin which they had committed. Not to extenuate their guilt, but to acknowledge it and to seek forgiveness. The apology for sin to which repentance leads, includes acknowledgment and deprecation. This apology was addressed to the apostle. They endeavoured to regain his good opinion. Moreover, indignation, either at the offence or at themselves that such an offence should have been allowed. They felt angry at themselves for their past misconduct. This is one of the most marked experiences of every sincere penitent. The unreasonableness, the meanness, the wickedness of his conduct rouse his indignation; he desires to seek vengeance on himself. Bengel says the word ἀγανάκτησις is chosen with special propriety, as it denotes a pain of which a man has the cause in himself. What fear. Whether fearful apprehension of God’s displeasure, or fear of the apostle, depends on the context. The idea is expressed indefinitely. Their repentance was attended by fear of punishment. Doubtless the two sentiments were mingled in the minds of the Corinthians. They had a fear of the wrath of God, and at the same time a fear of the apostle’s coming among them displeased and armed with the spiritual power which belonged to his office. The context is in favour of making the latter the prominent idea. What vehement desire, either for the correction of the evil complained of, or for the apostle’s presence and approbation. In the latter case this clause is a modification of the preceding. It was not so much fear of the apostle as an earnest and affectionate desire towards and for him, that their godly sorrow had produced. As in v. 7 Titus had repeated to the apostle the earnest desire (ἐπιπόθησιν, the same word as here) of the Corinthians for him, it is probable that the same is here meant. What zeal. In v. 7 the zeal spoken of is limited or explained by the words (ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ) for me. Without that addition they may be so understood here; zeal or zealous interest in behalf of the apostle manifested by their taking sides with him. The connection, however, with what follows favours the assumption that here the zeal meant is that of which the offender was the object. Zeal for his reformation or punishment What revenge, (ἐκδίκησις,) vindictive justice. One of the sentiments which godly sorrow had aroused in them was the sense of justice, the moral judgment that sin ought to be punished. This is an instinctive feeling, one belonging to our moral constitution, and therefore a revelation of the nature and will of God. The ground of the punishment of sin is not expediency, nor is it primarily the benefit of the offender, but the satisfaction of justice, or the inherent evil of sin which from its own nature, and apart from the evil consequences of impunity, deserves punishment. Of the six particulars introduced by (ἀλλά) yea in this verse, according to Bengel, Meyer and others, “clearing of yourselves” and “indignation” relate to the feelings of the Corinthians towards themselves; “fear” and “vehement desire” to their feelings towards the apostle; and “zeal” and “revenge” to their feelings towards the offender. According to Olshausen, the “apology” relates to their conduct; the “indignation” to their feelings in view of the crime which had been committed; the “fear” to God’s displeasure; the “desire” and “zeal” to their feelings towards the apostle, and “revenge” the consequence of all the preceding.

In all things, (ἐν παντί,) in every respect, or, in every point of view. Ye have proved yourselves, (συνεστήσατε,) you have set yourselves forth, shown yourselves to be (Gal. 2:18) clear, (ἁγνούς,) pure, free from guilt. In this matter, or, (without the ἐν, which the older MSS. omit,) as to the matter. The Corinthians proved themselves to be free from the sin of approving or in any way countenancing the crime in question. Their sin consisted in not more promptly excluding the offender from their communion. This whole passage, however, is instructive as presenting a clear exhibition of the intimate nature of church fellowship. One member committed an offence. The whole church repents. The godly sorrow which the apostle describes was the sorrow of the church. The effects which that sorrow wrought were common to the church as such. That believers are one body in Christ Jesus, and “every one members one of another,” so that “if one member suffers all the members suffer with it,” is matter of actual experience.

12. Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, (I did it) not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.

Wherefore. That is, because my letter has produced such results. The effects produced by his letter was the end he had in view in writing it. Though I wrote to you, i.e. although I interfered with your affairs. His motive in writing he states first negatively and then positively. It was neither for the sake of him who did wrong, nor for him who suffered wrong. His primary object was neither to have the offender punished, nor to secure justice being done to the injured party, viz., the father whose wife the son had married. This is the common and natural interpretation. As, however, nothing is elsewhere said of the father, and as the form of expression in 1 Cor. 5:1, (γυναῖκα ἔχειν, to marry,) seems to imply that the father of the offender was dead, since otherwise, it is said, there could have been no marriage in the case, various other explanations of this passage have been proposed. Some say that he “who suffered wrong” was the apostle himself; others, as Bengel, say it was the Corinthians, the singular being taken for the plural. Others, as Neander, Billroth, &c., say that ἀδικηθέντος is neuter, the wrong deed; so that the meaning is, ‘Neither for the offender nor for the offence.’ But these explanations are all unnatural and unnecessary. The ordinary interpretation is the only one which the words suggest, and what is said in 1 Cor. 5 is perfectly consistent with the assumption that the father of the offender was still alive. The positive statement of his object in writing is that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. The first question concerning this clause relates to the text. Instead of ἡμῶν (our), Lachmann, Meyer and others read ὑμῶν (your). This latter reading is followed by Calvin and Luther as well as by many of the modern commentators. As the external authorities are nearly equally divided, the decision rests mainly on internal evidence. In favour of the common text is first, the consideration that the manifestation of his love or care for them is elsewhere said to have been his motive in writing his former letter, 2:4; and, secondly, the words πρὸϛ ὑμᾶς are more easily explained. ‘Our care for you might appear unto you,’ is plain. But if ὑμῶν is read these words give difficulty. They must be rendered (apud vos) “with you.” ‘Your care for us might be manifest with (i.e. among) you.’ That is, that the zeal which you have for us might be brought out so as to be known by yourselves. This, however, would be more naturally expressed by ἑν ὑμῖν or ἑν ἑαυτοῖς, among yourselves. Besides, the words “before God,” as involving an appeal to the divine omniscience, are more in place if he is speaking of his own zeal, than if speaking of theirs. The immediate context, it must be admitted, is in favour of this latter reading. The apostle had been describing the effects of his letter, dwelling with great satisfaction on the feelings towards himself which that letter had called forth. It was natural for him therefore to say that his object in writing was to bring out this manifestation, and thus reveal themselves to themselves as well as to him. With this also agrees what he says in 2:9, “To this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.” Still on the whole the common text gives the better sense. In either case the words πρὸς ὑμᾶς depend on φανερωθῆναι, “might be manifest towards (or among) you.” So also do the words ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ, “that our care for you might be manifested before God,” i.e. in his sight, as what he could approve of. In our version these words are connected with our care. “Our care for you in the sight of God.” The same sense is expressed by the Vulgate; “ad manifestandam sollicitudinem nostram, quæ habemus pro vobis coram Deo.” According to the Greek the natural construction is, “To manifest in the sight of God our care for you.”

13. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.

Therefore, i.e. because his letter had led them to repentance. We were comforted in your comfort, (ἐπὶ τῇ παρακλήσει ὑμῶν,) on account of your consolation. This, however, does not suit the state of the case. Paul was comforted by their repentance, not by their consolation. To meet this difficulty some make ὑμῶν the genitive of the source; so that the sense would be, ‘We were comforted with the consolation derived from you.’ The great majority of modern editors read ἡμῶν instead of ἱμῶν, and put a stop after παρακεκλήμεθα. This gives a far better sense. ‘Therefore we have been comforted: and besides (ἐπί) our consolation, we have rejoiced exceedingly in the joy of Titus.’ Paul had not only the consolation, derived from their repentance, but in addition to that, he was delighted to find Titus so full of joy. Compare v. 7. The Vulgate has the same reading and pointing. Ideo consolatisumus. In consolatione autem nostra abundantius magis gavisi sumus super gaudio Titi. Because his spirit was refreshed by you all. This is the reason of his joy. Titus rejoiced because his spirit was refreshed, (ἀναπέπαυται,) derived rest, according to the comprehensive scriptural sense of the word “rest.”

14. For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which (I made) before Titus, is found a truth.

This is the reason why Paul was so rejoiced that Titus was satisfied with what he saw in Corinth. Paul had boasted to him of the Corinthians. He had predicted that he would find them obedient, and ready to correct the evils adverted to in his former letter. Had these predictions proved false, he would have been mortified,—ashamed, as he says; but as they were more than fulfilled, he naturally rejoiced. But as we spake all things to you in truth. No doubt in allusion to the charge of want of adherence to the truth made against him by the false teachers, to which he refers above, 1:17–18. As he spoke the truth to the Corinthians, so he spoke the truth of them. We spake in truth, (ἐν ἀληθείᾳ,) truly. So our boasting before Titus (ἡ ἐπὶ Τίτου) is found a truth, (ἀλήθεια ἐγενήθη,) has become truth. Though it is done incidentally, yet the revelation to the Corinthians that Paul had spoken of them in terms of commendation must have convinced them of his love. This was one of the objects, as appears from the whole epistle, he had much at heart.

15. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.

A continuation of the sentence begun in the former verse. Paul informs the Corinthians that Titus’s love for them was greater now than when he was with them. The recollection of their good conduct warmed his heart towards them. His inward affection, literally, his bowels, which in the Scriptures is a figurative expression for love, compassion, or any other tender affection. Whilst he remembereth, literally, remembering, i.e. because he remembers. Your obedience, viz., towards him, as appears from what follows. How with fear and trembling ye received him. “Fear and trembling” is a common scriptural expression for reverence, or solicitous anxiety lost we should fail in doing all that is required of us. 1 Cor. 2:3; Eph. 6:5.

16. I rejoice, therefore, that I have confidence in you in all (things).

This is the conclusion of the whole matter. The first seven chapters of the epistle are intimately connected. They all relate to the state of the congregation at Corinth and to Paul’s relation to the people there. The eighth and ninth chapters form a distinct division of the epistle. Here, therefore, we have the conclusion of the whole preceding discussion. The result of the long conflict of feeling in reference to the Corinthians as a church, was the full restoration of confidence. I rejoice that I have confidence in you in all things, (ἐν παντί, in every thing). I have confidence in you, (θαῤῥῶ ἐν ὑμῖν,) I have good courage, am full of hope and confidence. 5:6; Heb. 13:6. As θαῤῥέω is not elsewhere constructed with ἐν, Meyer says the meaning is, ‘I am of good courage, through you.’ If this objection to the common explanation be considered of weight, ἐν had better be rendered before. ‘I stand full of confidence before you, i.e. in your presence.’ 1 Cor. 14:11. The sense, however expressed by the common interpretation is better.