2nd Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 23 Holy Bible

ASV 2ndCorinthians 1:23

But I call God for a witness upon my soul, that to spare you I forbare to come unto Corinth.
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BBE 2ndCorinthians 1:23

But God is my witness that it was in pity for you that I did not come to Corinth at that time.
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DARBY 2ndCorinthians 1:23

But I call God to witness upon my soul that to spare you I have not yet come to Corinth.
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KJV 2ndCorinthians 1:23

Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
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WBT 2ndCorinthians 1:23


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WEB 2ndCorinthians 1:23

But I call God for a witness to my soul, that I didn't come to Corinth to spare you.
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YLT 2ndCorinthians 1:23

And I for a witness on God do call upon my soul, that sparing you, I came not yet to Corinth;
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 23. - Moreover I call God for a record; rather, But I call God for a witness. At this point, to 2 Corinthians 2:4, he enters for the first time on the kindly reasons which had led him to forego his intended earlier visit. He uses a similar adjuration in 2 Corinthians 11:31; and although these appeals (comp. 1 Corinthians 15:31; Romans 1:9; Galatians 1:20) may be due in part to the emotional fervour of his temperament, yet he would hardly have resorted to them in this self defence, if the calumnies of his enemies had not gained much credence. The French proverb, Qui s'excuse s'accuse, is often grossly abused. The refutation of lies and slanders is often a duty, not because they injure us, but because, by diminishing our usefulness, they may injure others. Upon my soul. Not "to take vengeance on my soul if I lie," but to confirm the appeal of its honesty and integrity. By the use of such "oaths for confirmation," St. Paul, no less than other apostles, shows that he understood our Lord's rule, "Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay," as applying to the principle of simple and unvarnished truthfulness of intercourse, which requires no further confirmation; but not as a rigid exclusion of the right to appeal to God in solemn cases and for good reasons. To spare you. This postponement of the intended visit was a sign of .forbearance, for which they should have been grateful. After all that he had heard of them, if he had come at all, it could only have been "with a rod" (1 Corinthians 4:21). I came not as yet. The rendering is erroneous. It literally means "I no longer came," i.e. I forbore to come as I had intended.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(23) I call God for a record.--Better, I call upon God as a witness against my soul. The thought seems to come across St. Paul's mind that the Corinthians will require a more specific explanation of his change of plan, and he finds this in what had been in part suggested in 1Corinthians 4:21. Had he carried out his first purpose, he would have come to punish or chastise. He had been, on this account, reluctant to come. His not coming was an act of leniency.I came not as yet.--Better, I came no more--i.e., not a second time after his first visit. The Greek adverb cannot possibly mean "not yet."