For: this word introduces a statement about why Paul was pleased that Titus was so happy.

In Greek this verse begins with the word if. It is clear in the context that Paul is not really expressing doubt about whether he expressed pride in the Corinthians. To avoid a misunderstanding by English readers, Good News Translation and many other versions do not use the “if” construction.

The verb put to shame is in the passive in Greek. Good News Translation uses the active voice and makes the subject explicit: “you have not disappointed me.” Martin says “you did not embarrass me.” Some languages speak of “seeing shame” and so translate “you did not cause me to see shame.”

A few Greek manuscripts have the word “always” rather than everything. The two words are similar in spelling. Revised Standard Version follows the preferred manuscript reading. It is not clear whether Good News Translation (also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nueva Biblia Española) is following the Greek reading “always” here or whether the Good News Bible translator understands everything we said to mean “we have always spoken.”

The tense in Greek (we said) may point to a specific time in the past (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised English Bible) or to the past as a whole (Good News Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nueva Biblia Española). Also possible but less likely is that the verb is an epistolary aorist (see comments on 8.17), in which a verb in the past tense is used for the present. If the last interpretation is accepted, then Paul is referring to what he has written earlier in this letter (see 1.12-14 and 4.2).

The exact meaning of the words before Titus is not clear. The fact that some Greek manuscripts have the word “to” instead of “before” indicates that some scribes thought the word “before” was ambiguous. Though Good News Translation (and New Revised Standard Version) may be correct in translating these words as “to Titus,” the Greek is ambiguous and may be translated as “before” in the sense of “in the presence of Titus” (Revised English Bible).

Proved true: more literally “became true.” Anchor Bible renders this “turned out to be true.” Or possibly one may translate “people can see that what we boasted to Titus is true [or, not a lie].”

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 .