2 Corinthians 9:14

And by their prayer for you - On the grammatical construction of this difficult verse, Doddridge and Bloomfield may be consulted. It is probably to be taken in connection with 2Co 9:12, and 2Co 9:13 is a parenthesis. Thus interpreted, the sense will be, “The administration of this service 2Co 9:12 will produce abundant thanks to God. It will also 2Co 9:14 produce another effect. It will tend to excite the prayers of the saints for you, and thus produce important benefits to yourselves. They will earnestly desire your welfare, they will anxiously pray to be united in Christian friendship with those who have been so signally endowed with the grace of God.” The sentiment is, that charity should be shown to poor and afflicted Christians because it will lead them to pray for us and to desire our welfare. The prayers of the poorest Christian for us are worth more than all we usually bestow on them in charity; and he who has secured the pleadings of a child of God, however humble, in his behalf, has made a good use of his money.

Which long after you - Who earnestly desire to see and know you. Who will sincerely desire your welfare, and who will thus be led to pray for you.

For the exceeding grace of God in you - On account of the favor which God has shown to you: the strength and power of the Christian principle, manifesting itself in doing good to those whom you have never seen. The apostle supposes that the exercise of a charitable disposition is to be traced entirely to God. God is the author of all grace; he alone excites in us a disposition to do good to others.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2Co 9:14. Δεήσει, on account of their prayer) [But Engl. Vers., “by their prayer for you.”] Construe, glorifying [δοξάζοντες, 2Co 9:13] for their prayer; for we give thanks even for the prayers which have been given to us [which God has enabled us to offer], 2Ti 1:3 [I thank God, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers].—ἐπιποθούντων, greatly desiring) construe with αὐτῶν, of them.—διὰ, on account of, for) construe with thanksgivings [εὐχαριστιῶν, 2Co 9:12].—ἐφʼ ὑμῖν) which rests upon you, in such a degree as that it redounds to their advantage.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_9:14. Καὶ αὐτῶν δεήσει ὑπὲρ ὑμ.] does not go with περισσεύουσα 2Co_9:12, so that 2Co_9:13 would be a parenthesis (Beza, Estius, Rosenmüller, Flatt, Olshausen, de Wette), because in that case Paul would have written very enigmatically, and must at least have continued with διά instead of with the dative. Nor yet does it go with δοξάζοντες, in which case the dative is either made to depend on ἐπί (Luther, Castalio, Bengel), or is taken instrumentally (Emmerling, Billroth, Osiander, Neander; Rückert does not decide), for in the former case there would result an idea strange and destitute of all analogy from the N. T. (Bengel wrongly appeals to 2Ti_1:3); in the latter, καί would be superfluous, and the prefixing of the αὐτῶν would remain entirely unregarded. We must rather take καὶ αὐτῶν … ἐπιποθούντων together as genitive absolute (comp. the punctuation in Lachmann and Teschendorf, also Ewald and Hofmann), and καὶ αὐτοί means they too, by which is meant to be indicated the fact that, and the mode in which, on their side also the ἁπλότης τῆς κοινωνίας, which the Corinthians have shown, is returned. Thus: while they too with prayer for you long after you. The emergence of the genitive absolute without difference of the subject is a phenomenon also frequent in classical authors. See Poppo, ad Thucyd. I. p. 119 f.; Richter, de anacol. § 16; Matthiae, p. 1306; Bornemann, ad Act_13:6.

δεήσει is not instrumental, but an accompanying accessory definition of the mode: with prayer, amid prayer for you.[296] Comp. Bernhardy, p. 100 f.

Regarding ἐπιποθεῖν, see on 2Co_5:2. It is the longing of pious, grateful love for personal fellowship with the brethren far distant. It is a sheer fancy that it means maximo amore complecti (Beza and many others, even Billroth).

διὰ τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν κ.τ.λ.] reason of this pious longing: because the grace of God is abundant towards you. How far this was shown in the present instance, see 2Co_9:13. Chrysostom well says: ἐπιποθοῦσι γὰρ τοῦτο οὐ διὰ τὰ χρήματα, ἀλλʼ ὥστε θεαταὶ γενέσθαι τῆς δεδομένης ὑμῖν χάριτος. Even in this Δ. Τ. ὙΠΕΡΒΆΛΛ. ΧΆΡΙΝ, Hofmann finds the contrast between the Israelitic Christians and the Gentile Christians, who before had lived beyond the pale of the church of God, and without God in the world. If Paul had meant this relation, he would have expressed it (comp. Eph_2:12).

ἐφʼ ὑμῖν belongs to ὙΠΕΡΒΆΛΛ. Comp. Kühner, ad Xen. Anab. iv. 2. 18. ἐπί denotes the object, to which the activity has passed o2Co 9:Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 290 [E. T. 337].

[296] It is the Christian intercession of thankfulness for the benefactors, for whom the praying heart yearns. Hofmann goes beyond the text when he imports into this prayer the definite contents: that God would keep the Achaean Christians till the time, when Jesus shall bring together the scattered children of God with those of the Holy Land and people. Mat_24:31 treats of the Parousia, and is not at all relevant here.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 9:14 . καὶ αὐτῶν δεήσει κ . τ . λ . This is again an independent sentence, beginning with a gen. abs.: while they also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you ( sc. , apparently, long to see you) by reason of the exceeding grace of God upon you: i.e. , you have the prayers of those whom you are helping, who feel the yearnings of affection for their benefactors in whom the working of God’s grace has been so signally displayed.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Translate, "Themselves also with prayer for you, longing after you on account of the exceeding grace of God (resting) upon you." English Version is, however, good sense: They glorify God (Co2 9:13) by the experimental proof, &c., "and by their prayer for you." But the Greek favors the former.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. The exceeding grace of God in you.] By the υπερβαλλουσαν χαριν, superabounding or transcending grace, of God, which was in them, the apostle most evidently means the merciful and charitable disposition which they had towards the suffering saints. The whole connection, indeed the whole chapter, proves this; and the apostle attributes this to its right source, the grace or goodness of God. They had the means of charity, but God had given these means; they had a feeling, and charitable heart, but God was the author of it. Their charity was superabundant, and God had furnished both the disposition, the occasion, and the means by which that disposition was to be made manifest.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. And their prayer He omits no advantage which may be of any use for stirring up the Corinthians. In the first place, he has made mention of the comfort that believers would experience; secondly, the thanksgiving, by means of which God was to be glorified. Nay more, he has said that this would be a confession, which would manifest to all their unanimous concurrence in faith, and in pious obedience. He now adds the reward that the Corinthians would receive from the saints — good-will springing from gratitude, and earnest prayers. “They will have,” says he, “the means of requiting you in return; for they will regard you with the love with which they ought, and they will be careful to commend you to God in their prayers.” At length, as though he had obtained his desire, he prepares himself to celebrate the praises of God, by which he was desirous to testify the confidence felt by him, as though the matter were already accomplished.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(14) And by their prayer for you, which long after you.—The structure of the Greek is again ungrammatical, but the following gives a somewhat more accurate representation: And while they long after you, in supplication for you, on account of the exceeding grace of God that rests on you. He seems half lost in his anticipations of what will follow when he hands over the contributions of the Gentiles to the “saints” at Jerusalem. Their utterance of praise and thanksgiving will, he is sure, be followed by a yearning prayer of intercession for their benefactors.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. and by their prayer for you, which long after you] The construction in the Greek is somewhat obscure. Some would render (1) as A. V., and regard this verse also as depending upon the word glorify. Others suppose (2) that St Paul has abruptly changed the construction, and would render they themselves, with prayer, earnestly longing to see you. If we accept (1), which also involves a change in the construction of the sentence, the sense is that the prayer of the Jewish Christians and their affection for the Corinthians redounded to the glory of God. If (2), it simply means that the result of the Corinthian bounty would be to draw out a corresponding fervency of affection on the part of the Church at Jerusalem. It is worthy of remark that the Apostle, in his vivid anticipation of the future, regards it as already present.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And by their prayer for you,.... The sense is, they glorify God on your behalf, making mention of you in all their prayers at the throne of grace, giving thanks to God for your liberality to them, and imploring all the blessings both of the upper and nether springs upon you; and this contains another argument engaging the Corinthians to liberality, taken from the prayers of the saints for them: or the words may be connected with Co2 9:12 the thirteenth verse being in a parenthesis; and show not only that this ministering to the poor saints relieved their wants, and caused thanksgivings to God, but abounded in this fruit also; it put them upon daily and importunate supplications to God for their welfare both in soul and body.

Which long after you; or "earnestly desire you"; that is, "to see you", as the Ethiopic version adds; or exceedingly love you: their affections are wonderfully drawn out to you; not so much, or barely for your kindness to them, as

for the exceeding grace of God in you; for that large measure of it which was bestowed upon them in regeneration, as their unfeigned faith, lively hope, and sincere love; and for all that grace which was displayed in their justification, adoption, sanctification, and whole salvation.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.

Ver. 14. And by their prayer for you] A poor Christian’s prayers cannot be bought too dearly. "I will restore comfort to him, and to his mourners," Isa 57:18. Such can do much with God. Et cum talis fueris, memento mei, saith Bernard to his poor, but pure friend. How heartily prayeth Paul for Onesiphorus, 2Ti 1:16.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Another way by which the glory of God will be promoted, by your simple, free, and liberal contribution, is, that by this he will have more prayers, which also will redound to your advantage, for it will procure prayers for you; and not prayers only, but a great deal of fervent love; so as they will long after your good, and after your acquaintance, when they shall receive such an experiment of

the exceeding grace of God in you.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. And (they glorify God, continued from last verse) by their prayer for you—Made with a longing for (the sight of) you.

For—On account of the grace of God superabounding upon you; as shown by this your superabounding beneficence.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And by their prayer for you. These words are joined by our Authorized Version with "glorifying God." The saints at Jerusalem would, in consequence of the proved sincerity of the Corinthians, glorify God with thanksgiving for their faithfulness and kindness, by prayer for them. The Revisers take the clause with the following participle, "while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you." This is the only right view of the construction. Long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you; literally, yearn for you because of the grace of God which overabounds to you.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you . [This ministry of yours, in giving to the poor at Jerusalem, not only fills up the measure of the wants of these people of God, but overflows that measure, for it results in many thanksgivings to God. And these results are evident, for by thus showing your liberality to the Jewish church at Jerusalem, you prove to it that you are indeed true and obedient to your confession of your faith in the gospel of Christ, and thus cause them to glorify God, as they also do for the liberality of your contribution unto them and (potentially) unto all. You cause them also to pray for you and long to see you face to face, that they may know those in whom God's grace abounds to so full a measure. It will be remembered that the church in Jerusalem, influenced by the prejudices of the Jews which surrounded it, and also by the sentiments and feelings which it inherited from its previous life, looked upon the church as planted by Paul, with eyes full of suspicion. They regarded these churches as lawless bodies, inimical to all that the Jews held as ancient or sacred. They were ready to believe any wild rumor which might start with regard to the unchristian character of the apostle's converts, and the reckless lawlessness of the apostle himself. The riot which arose soon after when Paul was found in the temple at Jerusalem aptly illustrates the attitude of the Jewish mind toward him and his work. Now the apostle felt confident that a liberal gift from his Gentile churches would bring about a better understanding, and would work wonderful changes in the thoughts of Jewish Christians. He felt that it would persuade the latter that his Gentile converts were truly obedient to the religion which they confessed, and that it would persuade them also that those who had overcome their prejudices sufficiently to give liberally to Jews would have no prejudices which would prevent them from giving liberally to other people. He was likewise confident that the Jewish Christians, seeing these things, would be fully persuaded of the genuine Christian grace of his converts, and therefore would not only pray for them, but even long for personal acquaintance and fellowship with them. How far the apostle was correct in this judgment we can not say; but he certainly seems to have been well received by the Christians at Jerusalem when he came as the representative of these Gentile churches. If the attitude of the unchristian Jewish mind toward him was still relentlessly bitter, it must be borne in mind that he took no collection for them, and that they were in no manner in his thought in this connection.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. And by their prayer for you. Thus, filled with affection for you, and longing for you on account of the proof they had of God's grace to you, they glorify God by prayer for you.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

14. καὶ αὐτῶν δεήσει ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐπιποθούντων ὑμᾶς. The construction is uncertain: but it is clumsy to take δεήσει back to δοξάζοντες, ‘glorifying God by their prayer’; and still more so to take it back to περισσεύουσα, ‘abounding in their prayer.’ More probably αὐτῶν ἐπιποθούντων is a gen. absol. (comp. 2Co 4:18) adding the thought that (while the Corinthians exhibit their goodwill by their bounty) the recipients of the bounty exhibit their goodwill by intercession for the donors; while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you, on account of the exceeding grace of God upon you. To make δεήσει depend on ἐπί (2Co 9:13) is grammatically possible, but yields no good sense. Would the Judean Christians glorify God for their own prayer? The word δέησις implies personal need (Luk 1:13; Jas 5:16; 1Pe 3:12), and is often used of intercession, whether to God or to man (Rom 10:1; Php 1:4; 2Ti 1:3). See Lightfoot on Php 4:6, and Trench, Syn. § li.

τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐφʼ ὑμῖν. This is explained by πᾶσαν χάριν περισσεῦσαι in 2Co 9:8. The play of words between χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ and χάρις τῷ θεῷ (2Co 9:15) should be noted.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14.] The construction is very difficult. δεήσει may depend on περισσεύουσα, ver. 12 (but then we should expect διὰ as there),—or on δοξάζοντες (but then it should also depend on ἐπί—and they could not be said to glorify God for their own prayers. If on δοξάζοντες as the instrument whereby, it seems strange that αὐτῶν Should be expressed), or αὐτῶν δεήσει ὑπὲρ ὑμ. ἐπιπ. ὑμ. may be (as Meyer) a gen. absol., ‘while they desire you in prayers for you’ (but this seems forced, and as De W. observes, would require τῇ either before or after δεήσει). In the midst of these difficulties I see no way but this: the datives preceding, ὑποταγῇ and ἁπλότητι, have occasioned this also to be expressed in the dative, as though it depended on ἐπί, whereas it is in reality parallel with διὰ πολλῶν εὐχαριστιῶν and dependent on περισσεύουσα. Again, the words in another point of view are parallel with τῇ ὑποταγῇ and ἁπλότητι, inasmuch as these are ὑμῶν, and this δέησις is αὐτῶν. Amidst such complicated antitheses and attracted constructions, it may suffice if we discover the clue to the original formation of the sentence: the meaning is obvious enough, viz. that glory also accrues to God by the prayers of the recipients, who are moved with the desire of Christian love (reff.) to you, on account of the grace of God which abounds eminently towards (over) you (ἐφʼ ὑμ. belonging to ὑπερβ. not to χάριν, which would, but not of absolute necessity, require τήν).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. καὶ αὐτῶν δεήσει ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐπιποθούντων ὑμᾶς. ‘While they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you.’ There is little doubt that we have here a gen. absol. (cf. 4. 18) stating the response which the Palestinian Christians will make to the generosity of their Corinthian brethren. The possibility of making δεήσει depend on ἐπί in v. 13 is a parenthesis), or on δοξάζοντες, or on περισσεύουσα (in which case the whole of v. 13. is a parenthesis), is not worth considering; the word implies “special petition for the supply of wants,” and is often used of intercession. See Lightfoot on Php 4:6; Trench, Syn. § li. The dat. here is not instrumental, not ‘by’ but ‘with’ the intercession accompanies their longing. The αὐτῶν is emphatic by position. B E have ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. For δέησις see Index IV.

διὰ τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐφʼ ὑμῖν. Note the change of constr. from διά cum gen. in v. 13; also the change of meaning in χάρις from χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ to χάρις τῷ θεωσͅ. The clause explains the reason of the longing; ‘on account’ of the exceeding grace of God upon you.’ In 8:1 it was the grace of God which enabled the Macedonian Christians to be so generous; the Palestinians will see that a similar grace is operating strongly at Corinth. The Apostle is very generous in his praise of both parties, of the Corinthians for their great generosity, and of the Jewish Christians for their gratitude to God, not merely for the relief given to them, but also for the genuineness of the Christianity found in the donors. The praise, esp. of the Corinthians, may seem to be somewhat extravagant; but St Paul is not praising what has taken place, but what he hopes and believes will take place.* It is a glorious picture which he has before his eyes. Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians abandoning their mutual distrust and dislike, which sometimes ended in bitter hostility, and drawing close together in mutual appreciation and love.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.