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Selected Verse: 2 Corinthians 7:9 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| 2Co 7:9 |
King James |
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
Now I rejoice--Whereas "I did repent" or regret having made you sorry by my letter, I rejoice NOW, not that ye were caused sorrow, but that your sorrow resulted in your repentance.
ye sorrowed--rather, as before, "ye were made sorry."
after a godly manner--literally, "according to God," that is, your sorrow having regard to God, and rendering your mind conformable to God (Rom 14:22; Pe1 4:6).
that--Translate in Greek order, "to the end that (compare Co2 11:9) ye might in nothing receive damage from us," which ye would have received, had your sorrow been other than that "after a godly manner" (Co2 7:10). |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry ... - I have no pleasure in giving pain to anyone, or in witnessing the distress of any. When people are brought to repentance under the preaching of the gospel, the ministers of the gospel do not find pleasure in their grief as such. They are not desirous of making people unhappy by calling them to repentance, and they have no pleasure in the deep distress of mind which is often produced by their preaching, in itself considered. It is only because such sorrow is an indication of their return to God, and will be followed by happiness and by the fruits of good living, that they find any pleasure in it, or that they seek to produce it.
But that ye sorrowed to repentance - It was not mere grief; it was not sorrow producing melancholy, gloom, or despair; it was not sorrow which led you to be angry at him who had reproved you for your errors - as is sometimes the case with the sorrow that is produced by reproof; but it was sorrow that led to a change and reformation. It was sorrow that was followed by a putting away of the evil for the existence of which there had been occasion to reprove you. The word rendered here as "repentance" (μετάνοιαν metanoian) is a different word from that which, in Co2 7:8, is rendered "I did repent," and indicates a different state of mind. It properly means a change of mind or purpose; compare Heb 12:7. It denotes a change for the better; a change of mind that is durable and productive in its consequences; a change which amounts to a permanent reformation; see Campbell's Diss. ut supra. The sense here is, that it produced a change, a reformation. It was such sorrow for their sin as to lead them to reform and to put away the evils which had existed among them. It was this fact, and not that they had been made sorry, that led Paul to rejoice.
After a godly manner - Margin, "according to God;" see the note on the next verse.
That ye might receive damage by us in nothing - The Greek word rendered "receive damage" (ζημιωθῆτε zēmiōthēte) means properly to bring loss upon anyone; to receive loss or detriment; see the note on Co1 3:15; compare Phi 3:8. The sense here seems to be, "So that on the whole no real injury was done you in any respect by me. You were indeed put to pain and grief by my reproof. You sorrowed. But it has done you no injury on the whole. It has been a benefit to you. If you had not reformed, if you had been pained without putting away the sins for which the reproof was administered, if it had been mere grief without any proper fruit, you might have said that you would have suffered a loss of happiness, or you might have given me occasion to inflict severer discipline. But now you are gainers in happiness by all the sorrow which I have caused." Sinners are gainers in happiness in the end by all the pain of repentance produced by the preaching of the gospel. No man suffers loss by being told of his faults if he repents; and people are under the highest obligations to those faithful ministers and other friends who tell them of their errors, and who are the means of bringing them to true repentance. |
| Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886] |
Repentance (μετάνοιαν)
See on the kindred verb repent, Mat 3:2, and compare note on Mat 21:29. Repentance is different from regret of Co2 7:8, indicating a moral change, as is shown by the next clause.
Ye might receive damage (ζημιωθῆτε)
Rev., might suffer loss. See on Mat 16:26; see on Luk 9:25. This somewhat obscure sentence means that the salutary moral results of the apostle's letter compensated for the sorrow which it caused. The epistle which won them to repentance was no damage to them. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Ye sorrowed to repentance - Ye had such a sorrow as produced a complete change of mind and conduct. We see that a man may sorrow, and yet not repent.
Made sorry after a godly manner - It was not a sorrow because ye were found out, and thus solemnly reprehended, but a sorrow because ye had sinned against God, and which consideration caused you to grieve more than the apprehension of any punishment.
Damage by us in nothing - Your repentance prevented that exercise of my apostolic duty, which would have consigned your bodies to destruction, that your souls might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. |
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.
6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.