For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things.
Parallel Translations
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For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things.
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For this cause verely dyd I write that I myght knowe the profe of you whether ye shuld be obediet in all thinges.
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For this cause also did I write, that I might knowe the proofe of you, whether yee would be obedient in all things.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 2:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 10:6 and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience is made full.
- Philemon 1:21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say.
- 2 Corinthians 7:12-15 So although I wrote to you, I wrote not for his cause that did the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered the wrong, but that your earnest care for us might be revealed in you in the sight of God. Therefore we have been comforted. In our comfort we rejoiced the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For if in anything I have boasted to him on your behalf, I was not disappointed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so our glorying also which I made before Titus was found to be truth. His affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembers all of your obedience, how with fear and trembling you received him.
- Philippians 2:22 But you know the proof of him, that as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
- Exodus 16:4 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
- Deuteronomy 8:2 You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
- Deuteronomy 8:16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn’t know, that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end;
- Deuteronomy 13:3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
- 2 Corinthians 8:24 Therefore show the proof of your love to them before the assemblies, and of our boasting on your behalf.
- Philippians 2:12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:14 If any man doesn’t obey our word in this letter, note that man, that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 9. For I had written to you also for…
9. For I had written to you also for this purpose. He anticipates an objection, that they might bring forward. “What then did you mean, when you were so very indignant, because we had not inflicted punishment upon him? From being so stern a judge, to become all at once a defender — is not this indicative of a man, that wavers between conflicting dispositions?” This idea might detract greatly from Paul’s authority; but he answers, that he has obtained what he asked, and that he was therefore satisfied, so that he must now give way to compassion. For, their carelessness having been corrected, there was nothing to hinder their lifting up the man by their clemency, when now prostrate and downcast.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 9 For to this end also did I write,…
9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
Ver. 9. Whether ye be obedient] First to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God, 2Co 8:5. Confer Heb 13:17; Isa 50:10.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain As for other ends, so for this also I…
As for other ends, so for this also I wrote my former Epistle to you, and I now write this Second Epistle to you also, that I might have an experiment of you, what regard you would show to that apostolical authority wherewith God hath invested me.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, 1. Our apostle declares what was his…
Observe here, 1. Our apostle declares what was his in writing his former epistle to them, namely, this amongst others, to exercise their obedience, and to make trial what regard they would show to his apostolical authority; whether they would be as obedient to his directions in absolving of penitents, as they were before in inflicting church-censures upon bold offenders. For this end did I write, that I might have a proof of you.
Observe, 2. The apostle declares his own forwardness to forgive penitent offenders himself, as well as makes known his desires that they should do it: Whom ye forgive, I forgive also, in the person of Christ; that is, as you forgive him, so do I: and I absolve him by Christ’s authority, as I excommunicated him in Christ’s name, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c. 1Co 5:4
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As he delivered the incestuous person to Satan in the name of Christ, so in the name and person of Christ he releases him, and relaxes the sentence against him. The power of excommunication and absolution, of binding and loosing, of casting out, and receiving into the church, is by Christ committed to church-governors, who are to execute this power in the person of Christ; that is, in the name and by the authority of Christ.
Observe, 3. The arguments with which, and the motive by which, he presses the church at Corinth to forgive the incestuous person, and to re-admit him into their society: lest Satan get an advantage of us.
What advantage?
Ans. An advantage to lead them into sin thus, by their their abusing that power which God had given them for edification, to the destruction of a person, by making them guilty of spiritual murder by their over rigorous proceeding against him, by driving him to despair, by tempting him to apostasy. Satan sometimes, by too great slackness of discipline, seeks to lull sinners asleep in the bosom of the church; and sometimes, by too great severity, endeavours to drive them to despair.
The force of the apostle’s words lies thus: I advise you to continue the severity of discipline no longer towards this penitent offender, but receive him again into your communion with all tenderness and speed, lest Satan should circumvent you, and overeach you, and make use of your rigour to your own ruin, by rendering your doctrine hateful, and your discipline detestable: for we are not ignorant of his devices, his contrivances, plots, and stratagems laid against us.
Learn hence, 1. That Satan is a master in the art of deceiving souls: he is full, very full, of cunning methods and devices to circumvent persons, and catch them in the net of his deceits.
Learn, 2. That it concerns all persons, but especially the ministers of the gospel, to be well acquainted with, and not ignorant of, any devices or plots of Satan. Satan has a multitude of devices, by which he undoes, entangles, and deceives souls; and no Christian ought to be ignorant of them, lest he be circumvented and undone by them. Many are his devices for drawing us into sin, for drawing us off from duty, for drawing us into temptation, for drowning us in despair: our wisdom will be not to dispute, but to resist; for by resisting, our temptations will be fewer, and our strength greater, Jas 4:7 Resist the devil, and he will fly.
Where note, That the promise of conquest is made to resisting, not disputing with Satan: to parley with him, is the way to be overcome by him.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For to this end also did I write,.... Or…
For to this end also did I write,.... Or "I have written", both in this and in his former epistle to them, and in both with this view,
that I might know the proof of you; that he might try, prove, and know them:
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whether ye be obedient in all things; he wrote unto them in his former epistle, to put away that wicked man from them; which he did not do, merely to reproach the man, and fix a brand of infamy on him; nor merely to grieve and afflict their minds; nor only to show his own power and authority, which he as an apostle had received from Christ, but to make trial of their obedience; and he had had a proof of it in their rejection of him; and now he writes unto them, that since this man was truly humbled for his sin, and had repentance unto life not to be repented of, that they would as cheerfully receive him, and restore him to his place; that as the apostle had a proof of their obedience in the one, he might also have in the other, and so in all things: hence it appears, that though it belongs to the whole church, and that only, to reject or receive members, yet as ministers of the Gospel are set over the churches, to govern, guide, direct, and go before in matters of discipline; so whatever they propose, according to the rule of God's word, ought to be carefully attended to and obeyed.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. For to this end also did I…
Verse 9. For to this end also did I write] εγραψα, I have written this also, the advices and commands which I now give you, that I might know whether ye be obedient in all things.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For to this end also did I write -…
For to this end also did I write - The apostle did not say that this was the only purpose of his writing, to induce them to excommunicate the offender. He does not say that he wished in an arbitrary manner to test their willingness to obey him, or to induce them to do a thing in itself wrong, in order to try their obedience. But the meaning is this: This was the main reason why he wrote to them, rather than to come personally among them. The thing ought to have been done; the offender ought to be punished; and Paul says that he adopted the method of writing to them rather than of coming among them in person, in order to give them an opportunity to show whether they were disposed to be obedient. And the sense is, “You may now forgive him. He has not only been sufficiently punished, and he has not only evinced suitable penitence, but also another object which I had in view has been accomplished. I desired to see whether you were, as a church, disposed to be obedient. That object, also, has been accomplished. And now, since everything aimed at in the case of discipline has been secured, you may forgive him, and should, without hesitation, again receive him to the bosom of the church.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain This was another reason why I wrote my former…
This was another reason why I wrote my former letter to you, viz. to try your obedience, and your attachment to the faith, and that I might know whether the difference of opinion which prevailed among you had prevented you from being obedient. (Calmet) --- Others explain it thus: I have written this second letter to you to try your obedience, and to know if you will pay the same obedience to my orders, when I tell you to receive the incestuous man into your communion, as you did when I told you to separate him from your communion. (Estius and Theodoret)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain For--Additional reason why they should restore the offender, namely,…
For--Additional reason why they should restore the offender, namely, as a "proof" of their obedience "in all things"; now in love, as previously in punishing (Co2 2:6), at the apostle's desire. Besides his other reasons for deferring his visit, he had the further view, though, perhaps, unperceived by them, of making an experiment of their fidelity. This accounts for his deferring to give, in his Epistle, the reason for his change of plan (resolved on before writing it). This full discovery of his motive comes naturally from him now, in the second Epistle, after he had seen the success of his measures, but would not have been a seasonable communication before. All this accords with reality, and is as remote as possible from imposture [PALEY, Horæ Paulinæ]. The interchange of feeling is marked (Co2 2:4), "I wrote . . . that ye might know the love," &c.: here, "I did write, that I might know the proof of you."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 9. For—St. Paul now indicates that the entire object…
9. For—St. Paul now indicates that the entire object of his commands in the first epistle touching the incestuous one is accomplished. Besides the salvation and restoration, by wholesome severity and mercy, of the criminal’s soul, he also sought proof whether the Church would be obedient to its apostle. This was a most momentous test; for, otherwise, they also were criminal with the incestuous criminal. There were both a fallen man and a fallen Church.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 9. For to this end also did I write]…
9. For to this end also did I write] St Paul here gives a third reason for writing the first Epistle. Not only was he anxious for the restoration of the offender, for a visit to Corinth which should have nothing of a painful character about it, but he wished to test the readiness of the Corinthians to submit to his authority (cf. ch. 2Co_7:15, 2Co_10:6), a point on which (1 Corinthians 9, 2 Corinthians 10-12) at that moment there was considerable doubt. See also note on 2Co_2:6. Some commentators, however, contend that the word ἔγραψα, though an aorist, is, as what is called the Epistolary aorist, to be translated “I write” (as in 1Jn_2:14), and that it refers to the present letter, and that the test of obedience St Paul desired was the display of forgiveness. But this seems hardly consistent with 1Co_5:2. See also Php_2:12, and 2Co_2:3 of this chapter.
the proof] That which has been tested and has borne the test. The word is variously translated in our version. In Rom_5:4 it is translated experience, in ch. 2Co_8:2 of this Epistle, trial, in 2Co_9:13, experiment, in 2Co_13:3 and in Php_2:22, proof.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (9) For to this end also did I write…
(9) For to this end also did I write . . .—The tense of the Greek verb, which may be what is known as the Epistolary aorist, used by the writer of the time at which he writes, would not be decisive as to what is referred to, and the words may mean: “I write to you thus to see whether you are as obedient now as you were before—in one line of action as in the other.” If he refers to the First Epistle, it is to intimate that he gave the directions in 1Co_5:3-7, not only for the removal of a scandal and the reformation of the offender who had caused it, but as a test of their obedience. On the whole, the former interpretation seems preferable. It scarcely seems like St. Paul to make the punishment a trial of obedience. There is a characteristic subtle delicacy of thought in his suggesting that, having shown obedience in punishing they should show it also in forgiving.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For to this end also did I write. This…
For to this end also did I write. This is another reason which he gives for the severe tone of his First Epistle. It was written
(1) to avoid the necessity for a painful visit (ver. 3);
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(2) to show his special love for them (ver. 4); and
(3) to test their obedience.
The proof of you. Your proved faithfulness (2Co_8:2 2Co_9:13; Rom_5:4) your capacity to stand a test.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 9–11. For to this end also did I write.…
9–11. For to this end also did I write. One object of his writing was to test their obedience. He commanded positively in 1 Corinthians, chapter 5.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain For to this end also did I write, that…
For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye are obedient in all things . [This shows that Paul had made his instructions concerning the incestuous man a test. If they obeyed him, in this, he could come to them bringing joy: if they disobeyed, their condition would call for further delay and more letters on his part. Where, then, is laid bare before the Corinthians the inner thoughts which were governing the actions of the apostle at the time when he was penning the fifth chapter of his first epistle. They could see now for themselves that their own foolish conduct, and not the fickleness of the apostle, had caused the delay and the change of plan; that so far as the apostle was concerned, he had always intended to visit them, and that all his statements about his visits had been made in good faith. Observe that as the apostle had become the leader in punishment or discipline, he here becomes the leader in forgiveness.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.