End of the Road

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 2 Corinthians 1:8 NASB

Despaired – If you read Paul’s statement in English, you think that there was a moment in Paul’s life when despair overtook him. So how do we reconcile this with Jonathan Sacks’ comment that despair is not a Jewish idea? The solution is found in the psychological state of the translator, not the author.

The Greek root Paul uses is exaporeo. It is variously translated “to be in great difficulty, to doubt, to be embarrassed, to be utterly at a loss, to be destitute of resources” and “to despair.” Looking at the list of possible translations, we notice that half of them deal with physical issues (loss, resources, difficulty). Half involve some sort of psychological state (doubt, embarrassed, despair). This means that the translator determines, hopefully by context, which is the correct orientation. But from the author’s perspective, the choice of meaning must be found in the worldview of the author. So the proper question in translation is, “What is the most likely orientation of the author himself?” That means we need to ask, “Does it make sense for Paul to speak of his circumstances as so grave that he despaired of life or is it more likely that Paul is expressing circumstances so dire that he has no further resources to marshal?” We can’t answer this question without examining the life of Paul.

When we look at Paul’s other writings, do we find a man who despairs of living? I think not. Paul is the man who wrote that neither death nor trials nor any circumstance would separate him from the love of God. He is the man who continually exhorted his readers to put their trust and hope in God, even when he himself was mistreated, abused and imprisoned. Paul is the man who was utterly committed to the service of the Messiah regardless of personal affliction. And Paul is the man who elected to remain alive on this earth to complete his mission rather than die and find a heavenly reward. Does that sound like a man who despairs of life? Clearly, not.

It seems to me that the translator has inserted a foreign psychological state into the life of Paul by the choice of “despair” rather than “without resources.” Perhaps this is because the translator assumes that Paul is like us, confused, doubting and subject to emotional depression under extreme circumstances. But this is our problem, not Paul’s, and it is illegitimate to make Paul into a contemporary believer by choosing a word that conveys our worldview. Since alternative translations are available, this choice tells us more about the state of the translator than the state of the author. Perhaps we need to read the text with regard to the life context before we draw conclusions.

Topical Index: despair, exaporeo, without resources, psychology, 2 Corinthians 1:8