some commentators have pointed out that the word "you" in "implore you" is not in the original Greek (Philip Hughes, 2 Corinthians, p. 217, et al.), therefore concluding that Paul is only showing his desire to evangelize the world using "we implore" as the action of ministry and "be reconciled" as the imperative for the world to repent. If Paul was merely defending his purpose in ministry, this reasoning would perhaps be appropriate. In this case, however, the Greek imperative "be reconciled" would be unnecessarily awkward when Paul could more easily have said, "we implore on Christ's behalf for men to be reconciled to God," in which the indicative "for men to be reconciled" would sit more naturally with the indicative "we implore." It is more likely that Paul is directing the Greek imperative "be reconciled" to close and expected hearers, i.e., he is commanding the Corinthians to be reconciled. Supporting this conclusion, in 2Co 6:1, where Paul says, "we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain," the "you" appears emphatically in the Greek and refers exclusively to the Corinthians. The matter, then, of whom Paul is specifically addressing in 2Co 5:20 becomes academic. (Robert A. Sungenis, Not By Faith Alone: The Biblical Evidence for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification [2d ed.; State Line, Pa.: Catholic Apologetics International Publishing, Inc., 2009], 452-53 n. 625 [print ed.])
