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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
9:1. Here again (see on 7:1) the division between the chapters is not well placed. As the γρshows, 9:1 is closely connected with what precedes. The Apostle continues to make arrangements respecting the collection. He has assumed all along that what has been begun will not be allowed to drop, and he has suggested reasons for a liberal contribution. He now begs them, whether they give much or little, to have all in readiness before he himself arrives.
As in the case of 6:14-7:1, we have again to consider the hypothesis that a fragment of another letter has somehow or other been inserted here. It is urged that 9:1 does not explain 8:24, and therefore the γρcannot refer to 8:24, and that in 9. we have repetitions of things which have been already said in viii. Repetitions in letters are common enough, especially when the writer is very much in earnest and has to feel his way with caution. “The tautological urgency of the appeal does not show a plurality of epistles, but a lack of certainty as to the result” (Reuss). The γρ as we shall see, is very intelligible. Indeed, if the division between the chapters had not been so misplaced, no one would have proposed to separate 9:1-5 from 8:16-24. Schmiedel divides the paragraphs between 8:23 and 24, giving 24 to what follows.* Hypotheses of stray leaves from other documents being imbedded in N.T. writings are to be received with much scepticism, unless they are supported by strong external evidence, as in the case of Joh_7:53-11. Some critics suggest that it is ch. 8. that has been interpolated. But there is no evidence in any MS., or version, or series of quotations, that ii Corinthians ever existed without 8. or without 9. Cyprian quotes from both, and commentators, both Greek and Latin, comment on both without betraying doubt about the genuineness of either. It will be found that 9. helps us to understand 8. See Massie, pp. 60, 61.
1. Πρ μνγρτςδαοίςεςτὺ ἁίυ. The μνanticipates δ in v. 3; the γρlooks back to the conclusion of 8. Cf. 1Co_11:5, 1Co_12:8. ‘I have commended the envoys to you rather than commanded you to give (8:8), for, with regard to the ministration to the saints, in the first place (μν it is superfluous for me to be writing (pres. not aor.) to you.’ The similar statements in 1Th_4:9 and 5:1 should be compared; also 4:13. For δαοί εςτ ἁ see on 8:4. In neither place does the εςlimit the ministration to the transmission of the money. C, Arm. omit γρas unintelligible.
πρσό μίἐτν Ex abundanti est mihi scribere vobis (Vulg.); better, supervacaneum est. We often do this; especially in cases in which we are deeply interested. We begin, ‘I need not say’; and immediately we do say, perhaps at some length: σφςδ τῦοπιῖ ὥτ μλο ατὺ ἐιπσσα (Chrys.). On the art. with γάενsee Blass, §71. 2, and comp. 7:11; Php_2:6, Php_4:10.
2. οδ γρτνπουίνὑῶ. He has stated that he knows that they thought of doing something and began to do something in the previous year, and he assumes that they are still anxious to do something; solet enim se meliorem praebere ille, de quo bene sentitur ab alio (Herveius). But we are not to suppose that St Paul deliberately gave the Corinthians praise which he knew that they did not deserve, in order to induce them to be liberal; still less that this is a right thing to do.
ἥ ὑὲ ὑῶ κυῶα Μκδσν ‘Of which I am continually glorying on your behalf to the Macedonians.’ He is staying in Macedonia, and habitually praises the Corinthians to them. As Theodoret remarks, ΔὰμνΚρνίντὺ Μκδνς δαδ Μκδνντὺ Κρνίυ, ἐὶτνἀαὴ ἐγσα ποτεε. It would be grievous indeed, if the Corinthians now failed to imitate the Macedonians, to whom the Corinthians had been held up as a pattern. ‘See that you who taught them do not fall behind your own disciples.’ Κυῶα with acc. of the thing gloried in is not rare (7:14, 10:8, 11:30). Often in Paul κυῶα is used in a good sense, not merely when the glorying is in God or in Christ (Rom_5:11, Rom_5:15:17; 1Co_1:31; etc.), but also when it is in men (here, 7:14; 2Th_1:4; Php_2:16). The Apostle also glories in his own infirmities and afflictions (12:9; Rom_5:3). Here he seems to have some misgivings as to whether he may not have praised the Corinthians to the Macedonians somewhat too warmly. The report which Titus brought from Corinth had delighted him so greatly, that his glorying about the collection may have been somewhat in excess of the facts.
Ἁααπρσεατιἀὸπρσ. He is quoting what he says to the Macedonians; ‘Achaia has been prepared since last year’ (see on 8:10). As in 1:1, ‘Achaia’ probably means Corinth and the neighbouring district; he purposely includes Christians outside Corinth, perhaps to avoid exaggeration. Corinth had done something the previous year, but apparently not very much.
τ ὑῶ ζλς Again we have the Pauline arrangement of ὑῶ between art. and noun; cf. 1:6, 7:7, 15, 8:13, 14, etc. In N.T., as in LXX and in class. Grk., ζλςis usually masc., but here and Php_3:6 the neut. form is well attested. It is found also in Ign. Tral. 4. Clem. Rom. Cor. 3-6 uses both masc. and neut. indifferently. Here the meaning is uncertain, but ‘your zeal’ is more probable than ‘emulation of you,’ guae ex vobis est aemulatio (Aug.).
ἠέιε ‘Stimulated.’ In Col_3:21, the only other place in N.T. in which the verb occurs, it is used in a bad sense, ‘provoke,’ ‘irritate.’ In LXX and in class. Grk. the latter sense prevails. ‘Provoke’ has both meanings, but commonly the bad one. Aldis Wright (Bible Word Book, p. 482) gives examples of the good meaning.
τ (אB 17) rather than ό(C D F G K L P). ὑῶ (אB C P f Vulg. Copt. Arm.) rather than ἐ ὑῶ (D E F G K L, d e Goth.).
3. ἔεψ δ τὺ ἀεφύ. ‘In the second place (δ) I am sending (epistolary aor., as in 8:17, 18, 22) the brethren,’ viz. Titus and his two colleagues.* The δ corresponds to the μνin v. 1. He need not urge them to give; he is sending these three to organize their giving. D E, Copt, have ἐέψμν
ἴαμ τ κύηαἡῶ. ‘That our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this particular.’ He had praised the Corinthians for many good qualities, and he does not want his boast to be proved an empty one in the matter of the relief-fund. He is not afraid that they will refuse to give, but he is afraid that they may be dilatory for want of organization. It will produce a bad impression if the money is not ready when it is wanted. He carefully limits his anxiety to ‘this particular.’
ἵακθςἔεο πρ ἦε ‘That, just as I repeatedly said (to the Macedonians) you may be prepared.’ The second ἴαis co-ordinate with the first; cf. Gal_3:14.
4. ἐνἔθσνσνἐο Μκσνς The brethren who go with Titus may or may not have been Macedonians. Their finding the collection not yet complete does not matter so much. But it will look very badly, when St Paul comes to fetch the money, if Macedonians come with him and find that very little has been collected. There is nothing here to show that the situation is different from that in viii, —that there St Paul is not coming to Corinth very soon, and that here he is coming very soon.
ἀαακυσος A late and rare form, here only in N.T. The usual form is ἀαάκυς Neither word occurs in LXX.
κτιχνῶε ἡες He puts his own shame first; but of course the disgrace would be theirs rather than his. He asks them to spare him, which is a better plea than appealing to their own interests, which are just touched parenthetically. Multa confusio est, si pro te qui te diligit erubescat (Pseudo-Primasius). ‘We, to say nothing of you, should be put to shame’ (7:14; Rom_10:11). See Index IV.
ἐ τ ὑοτσιτύῃ The word has a very varied history, but only one or two points need be noted here. From meaning ‘standing ground’ or ‘foundation’ it comes to mean ‘ground of hope or confidence’ (Rth_1:12; Eze_19:5), and hence ‘hope’ or ‘confidence.’ In LXX it represents fifteen different Hebrew words. In Heb_3:14 (see Westcott) it means the resolute confidence which resists all attack. Here it means the Apostle’s confidence in the character of his converts. They must not make people think that he has been too sure of them. Cf. 11:17; Heb_11:1. In this verse St Paul makes it quite clear that he means to visit Corinth again.
λγμν(אB C 2 L P, f Vulg. Syrr. Copt.) rather than λγ (C * D F G, d e g), After τύῃ אc Dc E K L P, Syrr. Arm. Goth. add τςκυήεςfrom 11:17. א* B C D * G 17, 67 * *, Latt. Copt. omit.
5. πολωι …ποαατσσ τνποπγεμννελγα. ‘To go to you before me and get into order before I come the bounty which was promised before (Rom_1:2).’ In this way, or by having ‘in advance’ in all three places, the repetition, which is no doubt deliberate, may be preserved in English. See on 13:2. It is not quite clear that the participle means promised long before’ by the Corinthians. It might mean ‘announced long before’ by St Paul. With ἀακῖνἡηάη comp. 2 Macc. 9:21.
ελγα. From being used of good words it comes to mean good deeds; from men blessing God and one another and God blessing men it comes to mean a concrete blessing or benefit, whether bestowed by men or by God (Jdg_1:15; Eze_34:26). Here it means a benefit bestowed by men on men. What the Corinthians give will be a blessing to the Jerusalem poor (Gen_33:11; Jos_15:19). He is not hinting that liberal giving will bring a blessing to them in this life or will be rewarded in the next; he is thinking of the good done to the recipients. In Rom_16:18 ελγαhas the rare sense of ‘flattering speech.’ It is remarkable that St Paul, who uses so many words in connexion with this benevolence to poor Christians, κιωί, δαοί, χρς ἁρτς λιορί and ελγα nowhere speaks of it as φλνρπα that word he uses of God’s love to man (Tit_3:4). Luke has it of man’s love to man (Act_28:2).*
ὡ ελγα κὶμ ὡ πενξα. Here RV. makes a change for the worse. ‘As a matter of bounty, not of covetousness’ (AV), is better than ‘not of extortion’ (RV). In the next verse φιοέω as well as ἐʼελγαςapplies to the Corinthians, and φιοέω is parallel to ὡ πενξα as ἐʼελγαςis to ὡ ελγα. ‘Not of extortion’ makes πενξαapply to the Apostle and his three envoys; ‘that this might be ready, because you are so willing to give, and not because we force you to do so.’ The meaning rather is ‘that this may be ready as a generous gift and not as a grudging contribution.’ Πενξαis “The disposition which is ever ready to sacrifice one’s neighbour to oneself in all things” (Lightfoot on Rom_1:29). It has therefore a much wider sweep than φλρυί (Trench, Syn. §24), and in the case of giving it means keeping for one’s own use what one ought to bestow on others. That is the meaning here.†But Chrysostom and Beza (ut extortum aliquid) take it as RV.
εςὑᾶ (אC K L) rather than πὸ ὑᾶ (B D F G).ποπγεμνν(אB C D F G P) rather than ποαηγλέη (K L). The κίbefore μ ὡ is probably original; but א F G, Latt. omit. D E gave κίalthough d e omit.
9:6-15. Give Liberally and Cheerfully, for Your Own Sakes and for the Sake of the Whole Church.
6 Now remember this sure law; He who sows sparingly, sparingly shall also reap, and he who sows on principles of bounty, on principles of bounty shall also reap. 7 Let each man give just what he has resolved in his mind to give, neither impulsively, because he takes no thought, nor regretfully, because he thinks that he cannot avoid giving. It is one who gives joyously that God loves and blesses. 8 Do not regard this as an impossible standard. God can and will help you to attain to it. He can shower earthly blessings in abundance upon you; and so, when you find that on all occasions you have all sufficiency in all things, you will have abundant means for accomplishing all kinds of good work. 9 This is exactly what stands written about the charitable man in Scripture;
He scattered, he gave to the needy,
His good deeds shall never be forgotten.
God not only can do this; He certainly will do it. 10 He who so bountifully supplies seed for man to sow, and thus gives bread for him to eat, will certainly supply and multiply benefits for you to sow, and will make the harvest which springs from your good deeds to be a full one; 11 you will be enriched on every side, so that all kinds of liberality will be open to you; and this liberality of yours, which I hope to administer, will be sure to make the recipients very thankful to God. 12 For the ministration of this truly religious service of yours does a great deal more than increase the supply of the wants of our fellow-Christians; it does that, but it also, through the chorus of thanksgivings which it occasions, produces something more for God. 13 This charitable ministration of yours is a proof of your Christian character, and it gives those who profit by it two grounds of thankfulness to God; viz. the genuine loyalty with which you confess your adherence to the Gospel of Christ, and the consequent liberality of your contribution to themselves, which is a benefit to the whole Church. 14 They themselves, moreover, will respond by offering prayers on your behalf, longing for closer union with you, on account of the overflowing grace of God which has been manifestly poured upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for effecting such brotherly love between Jew and Gentile in the Church, a precious boon of which it is impossible to state the worth.
The paragraph is a closely united whole and is closely connected with what precedes. Having begged the Corinthians not to spoil his praise of them by exhibiting unreadiness now, but to give without further delay, he puts before them three motives for giving liberally and joyfully. 1. Giving in a right spirit is a sowing which is sure of a harvest. Dare non est amittere sed seminare (Herveius). 2. God is able and willing to bestow the right spirit and the worldly wealth with which to exhibit it. 3. What they give will not only be a relief to the recipients, but it will fill them with gratitude to God and with affection for the donors. In a few details the exact meaning is not always clear, and in several places the grammatical construction is rugged or even broken. These blemishes are due to the deep feeling with which the Apostle advocates a cause which he has greatly at heart to those who have not been very enthusiastic about it, and who quite recently have been ill-disposed to himself. We must also remember that he is dictating, and in so doing may lose the thread of the construction.
6. Τῦοδ. The δ is merely transitional; ‘Now’ rather than ‘But.’ With τῦοwe may supply a verb which is sometimes expressed, such as, λγ, λγμν φμ, or ἴτ, νετ, λγζσε ἀαοίαθ: either, ‘Now this I say,’ or ‘Now consider this.’ Cf. 1Th_4:15; Gal_3:17; 1Co_7:29, 1Co_7:15:50; Php_2:5; 2Ti_2:7; etc. But τῦοor ἐεν without a verb is freq. in class. Grk. Blass, §81:2; Winer, p. 746. The emphatic τῦοcalls attention to what follows; it is a well-established and important law. Lachmann takes the τῦοon to ἕατς ‘Now let each man do this’ or ‘give this,’ making ὁσερν…θρσιa parenthesis, which is an awkward and improbable construction.
ὁσερνφιοέω, φιοέω κὶθρσι The chiasmus is effective; ‘He who sows sparingly, sparingly will also reap.’ St Paul is fond of chiasmus; 2:16, 4:3, 6:8, 10:11, 12, 13:3; 1Co_3:17, 1Co_4:10, 1Co_8:13, 1Co_13:2. Comp. ‘One man spends, yet still increases; another withholds what is proper, but it tends only to want’ (Pro_11:24). Ut sementem feceris, ita metes (Cic. De Orat. ii. 65). Nowhere else in N.T. or LXX does the rare adv. φιοέω occur, but cf. δρνδ ὁφιόεο (Pro_21:14). The harvest at which the return for the sowing will be repeated is the end of the world (Mat_13:39), and the return, good or bad, is bestowed by Christ (5:10; Gal_6:7; Eph_6:8; Col_3:25).
ἐʼελγας ‘On principles of blessing,’ or ‘On conditions,’ or ‘For purposes of blessing.’ Cf. τνἐ Θο δκισννἐὶτ πσε (Php_3:9), and ὁΘὸ ἔτσντνἄθωο ἐʼἀθρί (Wisd. 2:23), and πνε ἠίυ ἐʼἀαῷτνἐιαίνγγνσα (2 Macc. 5:4). Papyri show that ἐʼἀαῷwas a common colloquial expression, and ἐʼἀαοςalso occurs. The plur. here indicates abundance, and the adverbial phrase may be rendered ‘generously,’ ‘bountifully’; cf. Ecclus. 44:23.
The Apostle has already shown (8:12) that generosity does not depend upon the amount given, but upon the mind and means of the giver; and we need not wonder that he here puts before his converts the prospect of a rich reward hereafter as a motive for being generous. Low motives, if not immoral, are admissible, esp. in dealing with those to whom high motives do not always appeal. Our Lord makes use of them (Mat_6:4, Mat_6:6:18; Luk_14:14), as does St Paul elsewhere (1Ti_6:17-19).
Instead of ἐʼελγας ἐʼελγας D has ἐ ελγᾳ ἐ ελγα, G has ἐ ελγᾳ ἐʼελγᾳ Cyprian in benedictions, de benedictione. But it is clear from φιοέω, φιοέω that אB C etc. are right in having ἐίin both places, and the plur. would be more likely to be changed to the sing. than vice versa.
7. ἕατςκθςπορτιτ κρί. ‘Each man just as he has determined in his heart.’ As in Rom_5:18, the ellipse of the verb makes the sentence more forcible. Each must make up his mind seriously as to what he ought to give, and then give joyously. There must be neither thoughtless nor unwilling giving. Students of Aristotle’s Ethics are familiar with ποιεσα of deliberate choosing, as also with ατρεα(v. 8); both words are freq. there, but occur nowhere else in N.T. Even if ἐιοηῶ (v. 10) be allowed some weight, the use of such words is not very strong evidence that St Paul had acquaintance with Aristotelian philosophy. From philosophic schools these expressions had passed into the common language of the day, as Darwin’s language has done among ourselves. Cf. The sluggard’s hands ‘deliberately refuse to do anything,’ ο γρποιονα α χῖε ατῦπιῖ τ (Pro_21:25); also πὶ ἢγῶα ατνἢπολσα πνπ (Isa_7:15); and with τ κρί cf. ὁυό μυποίαοτ ψχ τνθγτρ ὑῶ (Gen_34:8).
ἐ λπςἢἐ ἀάκς These are not alternatives, but different ways of stating the same fact. The man who gives ἐἀάκςgives ἐ λπς By public opinion or other influences he is forced to give, and therefore he gives with pain and regret. He cannot give willingly, and therefore cannot give joyfully. Cf. ‘Thy heart shall not be sad (ο λπθσ τ κρί συ when thou givest’ (Deu_15:10, where see Driver).
ἱαὸ γρδτνἀαᾷὁΘό. The first word is emphatic; hilarem, Dei similem (Beng.). ‘For it is a joyful giver that God loveth.’ The quotation is from the LXX addition to Pro_22:8, ἄδαἱαὸ κὶδτνελγῖὁΘό. St Paul is quoting from memory. He would not deliberately have changed ελγῖto ἀαᾷ Nowhere else in N.T. does ἱαό occur, but it is fairly freq. in LXX in the Sapiential books. Wetstein quotes a Rabbinical saying, to the effect that receiving a friend with a cheerful countenance and giving him nothing is better than giving him everything with a gloomy countenance. Seneca remarks that to give with doubt and delay is almost as thankless as to refuse. Nam quum in beneficio jucundissima sit tribuentis voluntas, qui nolentem se tribuisse ipsa cunctatione testatus est, non dedit sed adversus ducenterm male retinuit. Multi autem sunt quos liberales facit frontis infirmitas. Optimum est, antecedere desiderum cujusque, proximum sequi (De Benef. ii. 1). The classical form is δτρor δτρ
πορτι(אB C P 67 **) rather than ποιετι(D E K L).
8. δντῖδ ὁΘό. ‘Now God is able’; that is indisputable. To give joyfully when one has little to spare may seem difficult, but with God all things are possible. He ‘is able to make every grace abound unto you.’ He can give the desire to be generous and the means of being generous. It is specially the latter that is meant here. Datur nobis, et habemus, non ut habeamus, sed ut bene faciamus. Omnia in hac vita, etiam praemia, sunt semina fidelibus, in messem futuram (Beng.). The man with a bountiful heart finds that God supplies him with something to bestow; ὁΘὸ ὄεα ἑυῷπόαο εςὁοάπσν(Gen_22:8). As in 4:15 πρσεωis transitive; here it must be, and there it probably is.
ἐ πνὶπνοεπσνατρεα. ‘Always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to all good works’; lit. ‘to every good work,’ or ‘every kind of good work.’ But, as in v. 5, 6:3, 7:4, 8:22, it is worth while to keep the repetition and alliteration as far as possible. In Plato (Menex. 347 A) we have μδὶ μδν μδμῦἀιήῃfollowed by δὰπνὸ πσνπνω πουίνπιᾶθ ἔεν Ατρεα ‘self-sufficiency,’ is being independent of external circumstances, especially of the services of other people. The result is contentment, for the less a man needs or desires in the way of external goods, the easier it is for him to be contented. This does not mean the avoidance of society or the refusal of the blessings of civilization, as the Cynics taught;* these things are necessary for self-development: but it does mean being able to do with a small amount of these advantages. The meaning here is that the less a man requires for himself, the greater means he will have for relieving the wants of others. In 1Ti_6:6 (cf. Php_4:11) the meaning is, not ‘sufficiency,’ but ‘contentment.’
δντῖ(אB C* D* F G) rather than δντς(C2 D2 and 3 E K L P). Here, as in Rom_14:4, the more usual word has been substituted for a rare one. In 13:3, the only other passage in N.T., δντῖis undisputed. Both in N.T. and LXX δντςis very freq. ; in LXX δντωdoes not occur.
9. κθςγγατι ‘Even as it stands written.’ There is exact correspondence between what has just been stated and what is said of the charitable man, ‘the man who fears the Lord,’ in Scripture. It is possible to carry on ὁΘό from v. 8 as the subject in the quotation, and it is not fatal to this view that in Psa_112:3, Psa_112:9, the good man, and not God, is the subject. Quotations are often made, and with the more effect, with a complete change of application. Moreover, in Psa_111:3, ‘His righteousness standeth fast for ever’ is said of God, and LXX is the same in both places. Nevertheless, the context here is in favour of understanding the quotation as a description of the benevolent man.
ἐκριε, ἔωε τῖ πνσν ‘He scattered, he gave to the needy.’ ‘Scattering’ is the opposite of ‘sowing sparingly’; it is, as Bengel says, verbum generosum, implying giving with a full hand. But he is less happy in adding sine anxia cogitatione quorsum singula grana cadant. The really charitable man takes anxious care that his benevolence is not made mischievous by being misapplied; he gives, not to anyone who will receive, but to the needy. Herveius is better; dedit non indiscrete omnibus, sed cum ratione solis pauperibus. Per hoc removetur vitium avaritiae contrarium, id est prodigalitatis. In N.T. (Mat_12:30 = Luk_11:23; Joh_10:12, Joh_16:32), as in LXX, σοπζ commonly means ‘disperse, put to flight.’
Nowhere else in N.T. does πνςoccur, and therefore it is all the more necessary to distinguish it in translation from πωό, which is freq. in the Gospels, but is used by St Paul rarely, and only in this group of Epistles (Rom_15:26; Gal_2:10, Gal_4:9). Both words are found in conjunction, several times in Ezekiel, and more often in the Psalms, where the familiar ‘poor and needy’ is frequent. Yet no English Version makes any distinction here; nor does the Vulgate, which has no fixed rendering where the two words are found together. It varies between egenus et pauper and pauper et inops, and once has mendicus et pauper. See Index IV. Of the two words πωό (πώσ, ‘I crouch’) is the stronger, ‘abjectly poor.’ Trench, Syn. §xxxvi.; Hatch, Bibl. Grk. p. 73. With the general sense comp. Pro_11:25. The righteous man does not keep for selfish use what was meant for the benefit of many.
ἡδκισν ατῦμνιεςτναῶα ‘His righteousness abideth for ever.’ Both subject and predicate of this simple sentence are ambiguous. Ἡδκισν may mean either ‘righteousness’ in the wider sense; or ‘almsgiving’ as a form of righteousness, and according to Jewish notions a very important form; or ‘prosperity’ as a reward for righteousness, ‘blessing,’ which seems to be its meaning in Psa_112:9; cf. Eze_28:20; Isa_58:8. ‘Righteousness leads to prosperity, and prosperity promotes almsgiving,’ is perhaps the sequence in thought. In Mat_6:1 the original reading δκισν was changed by some copyists to ἐεμσν, because they supposed that δκισν was used there in the narrower sense. Cf. Deu_24:13. Μνιεςτναῶαis also ambiguous, for it may refer to the life to come or be limited to this life, and the ‘abiding’ or ‘standing fast’ may be literal or may refer to perpetual remembrance by man or God. In LXX of both Psalms the expression is εςτναῶατῦαῶο. It is unlikely that St Paul omits τῦαῶο in order to limit the meaning to this life, for εςτναῶαmay include the life to come (Joh_8:51, Joh_8:11:26, Joh_8:12:34; etc.). He himself commonly uses the plur. εςτὺ αῶα, sometimes adding τναώω (Gal_1:5; Php_4:20; etc.) and sometimes not (Rom_1:25, Rom_1:9:5; etc.).
Among possible meanings for the whole statement these merit consideration; (1) the righteous acts of the good man continue as long as he lives, for God always supplies him with the means; (2) the prosperity which rewards his righteousness continues as long as he lives; (3) his goodness will always be remembered among men; (4) his goodness will always be remembered and rewarded by God both here and hereafter; (5) the effects of his goodness will live for ever, influencing generation after generation. Wickedness will be destroyed, but righteousness can never perish. Of these five the two last are best, and of these two the last is perhaps not sufficiently obvious; the fourth is simpler and is a principle often insisted on in Scripture.
G K, f g add τῦαῶο from LXX.
10. ὁδ ἐιοηῶ σέμ τ σερνικτλ He is continuing the argument that, in the long run, bounty is not ruinous to those who practise it. He has shown that God can reward it, and he now points out that we may believe that He will do so. He again resorts to Scripture, Isa_55:10 and Hos_10:12.
κὶἄτνεςβῶι. The clause is amphibolous, but no doubt should be taken with what precedes (RV), not with what follows (AV); ‘Now He that bountifully supplieth seed to the sower and bread for eating, will supply and multiply what you sow.’ It seems to be right to make a distinction between ἐιοηέ and χργω although in late Greek compound words are often no stronger in meaning than simple ones (Bigg on 2Pe_1:5). Cf. Gal_3:5; Col_2:19, in both of which passages χργωmeans ‘supply bountifully,’ and ἐιοηί has a similar force Eph_4:16 and Php_1:19 (Lightfoot on Gal_3:5). Χργω freq. in LXX, is found in N.T. here and 1Pe_4:11 only. The word passed through three stages; (1) ‘lead the chorus’; (2) ‘supply the chorus’ for a drama, a λιορί which cost the persons who undertook it a large outlay; (3) ‘supply anything plentifully,’ as here. Even the simple verb suggests generous behaviour. Aristotle several times uses κχργμνςIn the sense of ‘well furnished,’ ‘well fitted out’ (Est_1. viii. 15, x. 15, x. vii. 4; etc.).
Rather more important than the change from ἐιοηῶ to χργσιis the change from σέμ to σόο, for the former is seed in the literal sense, whereas σόο is here used of the gifts which must be scattered generously, and which God will supply and augment. The possessions of the Corinthians are given by God, and He augments them with a view to their being employed benevolently.
Both external (see below) and internal evidence can show that the three verbs are futures indicative and not optatives. A wish does not suit the context.
St Paul does not seem to make much, if any, difference between κύηι (1:12, 7:4, 14, 8:24, 11:10, 17) and κύηα(1:14, 5:12, 9:3), and in late Greek the difference between -σςand -μ in verbal substantives is not very distinct. But in the case of βῶι and πσς(1Co_8:4; Rom_14:17; Col_2:16) as compared with βῶαand πμ (1Co_3:2, 1Co_3:6:13, 1Co_3:10:3, 1Co_3:4; Rom_14:15) he appears to observe the usual difference, the former being ‘eating’ and ‘drinking,’ the latter ‘food’ and ‘drink.’ Here βῶι is ‘eating’ rather than ‘food’; panem ad manducandum (Vulg.) rather than panem ad escam (Beza). But elsewhere Vulg. has esca or cibus for βῶι as well as for βῶα
αξσιτ γνμτ τςδκισνςὑῶ. From LXX of Hos_10:12; ‘will make the fruits of your righteousness to grow.’ Neither LXX nor Heb. give exactly the thought which St Paul has here, yet either might suggest the thought. His chief borrowing is the expression γνμτ δκισνς The Heb. gives, ‘Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap the fruit of love; break up your fallow ground; since there is (still) time to seek Jehovah, till He come and rain righteousness upon you,’ or possibly ‘to the end that the fruit of righteousness may come to you’ (see Harper, ad loc.). If we may take the first two commands as meaning ‘Sow for yourselves righteousness and ye shall reap in proportion to your love,’ and conclude ‘to the end that the fruit of righteousness may come to you,’ we come close to what St Paul inculcates here. LXX is very different; ‘Sow for yourselves unto righteousness; reap unto fruit of life; light for yourselves unto light of knowledge; seek the Lord until the produce of righteousness comes for you.’
Here, as in 1Co_3:6, 1Co_3:7; αξν is transitive ; so always in LXX. Cf. 10:15; Col_1:6, Col_1:10; 1Pe_2:2. In N.T. it is often intransitive (Eph_2:21, Eph_2:4:15; Mat_6:28; etc.). The change is thought to begin with Aristotle. Many verbs, mostly connected with motion, make this transition. Winer, p. 314; Blass, §24. Γνμ is freq. in LXX of vegetable produce; cf. Mat_26:29 and parallels. Here of the rewards of liberality.
σέμ (אC D2 and 3 E K L P) rather than σόο (B D* F G), by assimilation to what follows. χργσι…πηυε …αξσι(א B C D * P, Latt. Copt.) rather than χργσιπηύα …αξσι(א Dc F G K L), γνμτ (אB C D F G K L P), rather than γνήαα Papyri. confirm the spelling with one v, and the derivation from γνμι as coexisting with the double v, and the derivation from γνά. Deissmann, Bib. St. pp. 109, 184. Cf. Mar_14:25; Mat_26:29; Luk_22:18. In Mat_3:7, Mat_12:34, Mat_23:33, and Luk_3:7, γνηαis right. Blass, §3. 10.
11. ἐ πνὶποτζμνι ‘Ye being enriched in everything. The constr. is uncertain, but the meaning is clear. It is awk-ward to make vv. 9:10 a parenthesis and connect ποτζμνιwith ἔότςπρσεηεIn v. 8, for in v. 10 a new argument begins. Yet WH. follow Bengel in adopting this arrangement. It is less violent to connect ποτζμνιwith the preceding ὑῶ : the transition from gen. to nom. would be easily made in dictating. Cf. δξζνε (v. 13), εδτς(1:7), θιόεο (7:5), σελμνι(8:20). Winer, p. 716 Blass, §79. 10.
εςπσνἁλττ, ἥι κτράεαικτλ ‘Unto every kind of liberality (see on 8:2), which is such as to (8:10) work out (7:10, 11) through us thanksgiving to God.’ It is difficult here to give ἁλτςthe meaning of ‘simplicity,’ ‘singleness of mind,’ which some prefer; Biederkeit, Herzenseinfalt, Einfalt. Here, as in 8:2. Vulg. has simplicitas, Beza benignitas. ‘Being enriched unto singleness of heart’ is a strange expression, and it does not make it less strange to explain ‘singleness of heart’ as ‘the absence of selfish motives.’ The meaning is that the Corinthians will be endowed with a generosity which will enable the Apostle to excite gratitude in those who profit by it. With δʼἡῶ comp. τ δαοομν ὑʼἡῶ (8:19, 20).* It does not make much matter whether we take τ Θῷwith εχρσίνor κτράεα : the former is simpler. Datives are normal after such words as εχρσί, εχ, ποεχ, χρς Here B reads Θο. There is no break in the paragraph here, as if v. 12 was the beginning of a new point; the verse merely explains what has just been stated, that charitable work promotes devout feeling towards God. There should be no full stop at end of v. 11.
12. ὅιἡδαοί τςλιορίςτύη. ‘Because the ministration of this public service not only helps to fill up the wants of the saints, but it also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God.’ ‘The ministration of this public service’ means ‘the ministering which you render to others by undertaking a work of general benevolence.’ The genitive is epexegetic. When Barnabas and Saul take relief from Antioch to Jerusalem in the famine-year, it is called δαοί (Act_11:29, Act_12:25). Λιορι is used here in a sense closely akin to its classical meaning of the ‘aids’ which wealthy citizens had to render to the public in financing choruses for dramas (see on v. 10), fitting out triremes, training gymnasts, etc. These publica munera were enforced by law, but St Paul uses the word of voluntary service. The Jews gave the term a religious meaning,* ‘the public ministrations of priests (Heb_8:6, Heb_8:9:21; Luk_1:23; and often in Num. and Chron.) and of Levites’ (Exo_38:19) [38:21]; cf. 1Ch_16:4, 1Ch_16:37. “The words λιορό, -εν -ί, are used in the Apostolic writings of services rendered to God and to man, and that in the widest relations of social life” (Westcott, Hebrews, p. 231). See on Rom_15:27, where the verb is used of this very contribution; also Lightfoot on Php_2:17, Php_2:30. The δαοί here is not the administration of the fund by St Paul (that is a subordinate detail), but the service of the Corinthians in raising the fund. What Athenian citizens who had the means were made to do, Gentile Christians will be glad to do, in order to render service to society and to God. Christians, a little later, gave these words a special religious meaning in connexion with the Eucharist, while retaining the Jewish usage respecting public worship of any kind. It is doubtful whether here any idea of ‘sacrifice’ ought to be included. See on v. 10.
ποααλρῦα ‘Filling up in addition,’ ‘helping to fill’; cf. 11:9. The Corinthians were not the only contributors.
τ Θῷ As in v. 11, this comes at the end with special force. There it seems to belong to εχρσίνrather than to κτράεα; and that is in favour of taking it with εχρσινhere; but there is no certainty in either case. It may belong to εχin either case or in neither. If taken with the verb, it is a dat. comm. ‘for God,’ and in that sense St Paul would perhaps rather have said εςτνδξντῦΘο (4:15); see also 1Co_10:31, Rom_15:7. To take τ Θῷwith εχρσίνdoes not destroy the antithesis between ποααλρῦαand πρσεοσ, nor that between τνἁίνand τ Θῷ B has τ Χιτ hhere for τ Θῷ Πλῶ may be ‘of many people,’ but ‘many thanksgivings’ is simpler, per multas gratiarum actiones (Vulg.).
13. δὰτςδκμςτςδαοίςτύη δξζνε τνθό. We again have an anacoluthon with a nom. participle; see above on ποτόεο (v. 11), with which, however, δξζνε cannot be connected, for ποτζμνιrefers to the Corinthians and δξζτςto the Christians at Jerusalem, who are the people that offer the many thanksgivings in v. 12. The anacoluthon is simple enough in any case, but it is rather more simple if πλῶ εχρσίνmeans ‘thanksgivings of many people’ rather than ‘many thanksgivings.’ In any case this verse explains why Palestine Christians give thanks to God; ‘seeing that through the proof (see on 2:9) of this ministration of yours they glorify God.’ The relief of want is one good point in benevolence, but only one; the glory of God is another; and it is greatly to the glory of God to change the spirits of others from despondency to joyous thankfulness to Him. Affliction tested the reality of the Macedonians’ Christianity (8:2), benevolence will be a proof in the case of the Corinthians.
ἐὶτ ὑοαῇ…κὶἁλττ τςκιωίς In the fulness of his feeling the Apostle gives a compressed fulness of expression, the general meaning of which is certain, but the exact construction of which cannot in all particulars be disentangled with certainty. He has just stated what would be the occasion of the saints’ thankfulness. He now states two reasons for it, Corinthian loyalty to the Gospel, and Corinthian generosity to themselves. They had been suspicious of Corinthian loyalty; many Jewish Christians had feared that converts from heathenism were turning Christian liberty into pagan licentiousness. The brethren in Jerusalem would now see that Gentile converts were as good Christians as Jewish converts; and generosity was generosity from whatever quarter it came. It does not make much difference whether we take εςτ εαγλόwith τ ὑοαῇor τςὁοοίς and both Vulg. (in oboedientia eonfessionis vestrae in evangelium Christi) and RV. (‘the obedience of your confession unto the Gospel of Christ’) leave it open. Beza (de vestra testata submissions in evangelium Christ) and AV (‘your professed subjection unto the Gospel of Christ’) decide for τ ὑοαῇ The other is better; cf. τνεςτνχιτντῦθο ὁοοίν(Just. M. Try. 17. 266 D). ‘Confession’ needs some further definition here. Later it was used of the confession made at baptism; see Suicer s.v. and ἀοάσμι
We have a similar doubt as to whether εςατὺ κὶεςπνα should be taken with τςκιωίςor ἁληι and here again connexion with the nearer noun i