As surely as God is faithful: the sense seems to be that it is not only Paul himself who bears witness to his integrity; God, who can be trusted, likewise bears witness to Paul’s integrity. Barrett makes this implicit information explicit in his translation: “God is to be trusted, and he will bear witness that our word to you is not Yes and No.” Another possible model can be “Just as God never deceives [people] ….”

Our word: though the primary reference is to Paul’s “promise” to visit the Corinthians (so Good News Translation), our word probably includes also the Good News that they preach (1.19-20). Perhaps Good News Translation limits the meaning too much.

Our word to you has not been Yes and No: as in verse 17, the sense is that Paul is not saying contradictory things at the same time. An American Translation says “there has been no equivocation about our message to you.” Revised English Bible says “What we tell you is not a mixture of Yes and No.” Other models can include “We [or, I] did not agree and refuse at the same time” or “our [or, my] promise to you was not made with two hearts [or, minds].” The plural possessive pronoun is very likely epistolary and should be translated as a singular (so Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .