Corpus-Paul

[Ray Fincher <rfincher AT pe.net>]

Paulisters:

Forgive a lay intrusion. My reading of this list leads me to believe that 
someone hereon will be able to answer my question(s) regarding the last 
verse of the last chapter of Second Corinthians.

     1.  In my _Nestle-Aland Greek-English New Testament_ (27th edition) 
the Greek 2Cor13 ends with the 13th verse. The English side (RSV) ends with 
the 14th verse, the Greek 12th verse being split into two, numbered in the 
RSV as the 12th and 13th.

     2. The KJV, REB, NASB, NIV, and NASB(U) all agree with the RSV in 
rendering 2Cor13 as having 14 verses.

     3. In the NRSV, which I use most frequently nowadays, 2Cor13 verses 
11-13 appear to my untrained eye to be a pretty close translation of the 
NA27 Greek verses 11-13, at least as regards versification.

After all that build-up, here are my two questions:

     1.  Why did the NRSV translators go the route they did and revert to 
the NA27 (Greek) numeration? (Or perhaps I should be asking the converse: 
Why did all those other translators split the 12th verse in two, thereby 
creating a fourteen verse 13th chapter?)

     2. The practical question lurking behind all this is:  How do I cite 
the words, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the 
communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."? Should I call it 
2Cor13.14, 2Cor13.13,  or am I forced forever hereafter to have to cite the 
translation being used to avoid any confusion (as "2Cor13.13 [NRSV]", 
"2Cor13.14 [REB]", etc.)

In most other cases of alternative verse numberings, there are at least 
explanatory notes, especially in the NRSV, but I find no such help in any 
of my versions in this case.

Thanks for your diversion from serious matters to help a simple-mindedly 
quizzical layman.

Ray
+  +  +
Ray Fincher
<rfincher AT pe.net>
Riverside, California
sixty-something third career seminarian