Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to 2 Corinthians · About this commentary
As Dying, and Behold We Live
2 Corinthians 6:8-10
8 by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, · WEB
Nine paired opposites close the list, and in every pair the appearance is conceded and simply set beside the fact.
The list of credentials ends, and what replaces it cannot be read as a list at all. Nine pairs, each holding a public verdict against something else.
By glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold — we live, as punished and not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
The first thing to notice is what the pairs do not do. Not one of them denies its first half. He is called a deceiver, is unknown, is dying, is poor, owns nothing — and no clause says otherwise. The appearance is admitted every time and then something is put next to it.
That is the letter's method compressed into a single sentence, and it is the only honest way to state these credentials. The rivals' qualifications could be read off the surface: a reference, a reputation, a fee. Paul's cannot be read off the surface at all, because on the surface he looks like the first half of every pair.
The pairs are also arranged. The first two concern reputation, and they run both directions — glory and dishonor, evil report and good report — so he is not claiming to be universally slandered. The next two concern identity, and they are sharper: to be called a deceiver and be true is a charge no evidence can lift, since a convincing deceiver looks exactly like a truthful man. He will come back to that when he describes an adversary who dresses as an angel of light 2 Corinthians 11:14.
The fifth and sixth concern survival, and the interjection is the only break in the rhythm: as dying and behold — we live. The word behold is doing what the four paired clauses of chapter 4 did, where he was pressed but not crushed 2 Corinthians 4:8.
And the last three concern possession, moving from feeling to money to everything. Sorrowful yet always rejoicing — the second word is not sometimes. Poor yet making many rich, which is the shape of Christ's own exchange 2 Corinthians 8:9. And having nothing and yet possessing all things, which ends the list at the widest point available and settles nothing that an observer could verify.
settled What this mark means