This verse is made up of two questions, the second of which is rather complex in form. The main point of this verse is to deny Paul’s need to introduce himself or to produce written recommendations from some third party to the people in Corinth, who already knew him well. In many languages such questions will serve the same purpose, but in some cases it will be better to drop the question form and to change them into affirmative or negative statements:
• You may think that we are once again commending ourselves to you, but this is not so. Some people need letters of recommendation to you or from you. But certainly we do not need such letters.

While this overall structure may need to be adopted, the details on how to render certain elements within it will be discussed in the paragraphs that follow.

To commend ourselves again: his question anticipates the assumption that some Christians in Corinth may criticize him for boasting because of his comments in the preceding verse (2.17). The question is rhetorical and is his way of saying that they are not boasting about themselves again. Ourselves does not include the readers. The word again probably suggests that some Corinthian Christians had previously accused Paul of commending himself to them. To commend oneself was to state one’s credentials and establish one’s credibility (see also 4.2; 5.12). This, of course, should be unnecessary for someone already well known. The verb commend has the basic meaning “stand beside” or “stand with” but may also mean “prove” (7.11), “show,” or “confirm.” It is used eight times in 2 Corinthians (3.1; 4.2; 5.12; 6.4; 7.11; 10.12, 18; 12.11), showing that it is a special problem in Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians at the time this letter was written, but it does occur four times elsewhere in Paul’s writings (Rom 3.5; 5.8; 16.1; and Gal 2.18). The reference in Rom 16.1 is most closely related to the usage here.

In Greek the form of the question Or do we need…? implies that a negative answer is expected. Anchor Bible captures the intended negative response as follows: “Surely, we do not need … do we?” God’s New Covenant similarly shows that the intended answer is negative: “Is not the truth rather that we are in no need, as certain people are, of commendatory letters…?”

Letters of recommendation were common in the ancient world (see Acts 18.27 and Rom 16.1-2). Such letters were written to introduce someone and to give approval to that person. Barclay calls these “letters of introduction.”

Paul does not identify who the some people are who needed letters of recommendation, but in the context of 2 Corinthians these are persons who came to Corinth from somewhere else with letters of recommendation from recognized authorities and who are opposed to Paul. Probably the same persons are referred to in 2.17 and 10.2. In this context the indirect reference to his opponents as “some other people” (Good News Translation) suggests that Paul is critical of them. Phillips expresses the implicit criticism well: “Do we need, as some apparently do…?”

Or from you: Contemporary English Version makes explicit the purpose of letters of recommendation from the Corinthians: “Do we need letters … from you to tell others about us?”

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 .