Greek and Rough Translation
Οὐ γὰρ θέλομεν ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ὑπὲρ τῆς θλίψεως ἡμῶν τῆς γενομένης ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, ὅτι καθ’ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐβαρήθημεν, ὥστε ἐξαπορηθῆναι ἡμᾶς καὶ τοῦ ζῆν· ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν, ἵνα μὴ πεποιθότες ὦμεν ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῖς ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ ἐγείροντι τοὺς νεκρούς· ὃς ἐκ τηλικούτου θανάτου ἐρρύσατο ἡμᾶς καὶ ῥύσεται, εἰς ὃν ἠλπίκαμεν ὅτι καὶ ἔτι ῥύσεται.
For we do not desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of the great suffering we experienced in Asia, because we were extra burdened exceedingly beyond our ability, so as to despair us, even for life. More so, we we carried in ourselves a sentence of death, so that we might perhaps stop trusting ourselves, but trust in God, the one who raises the dead. Who delivered us from the moment of death and who will deliver, in whom we have hoped that also he will yet deliver us.
Smooth Translation and Notes
We want you to be in the know, brothers and sisters, how greatly we suffered in Asia. We were weighed down far beyond what we could take, so much so that life became despairing. Things got so bad, that we were stamped, “dead,” but this was so that we might not trust ourselves, but instead God, not just any god, but the One who raises the dead. He is the one who rescued us from the very moment of our death and who will rescue us, the one in in whom we have hoped for future rescue.
The only note I can think of is that I want to come through the worst trials I face thinking, not, "this stinks I quit," but, "why have you forsaken me? nevertheless, I know you've raised the dead."
Well, one more note, the next clause is some of the most confusing syntax I've seen. I felt embarrassed to put my translation up, because I know what it means but simply cannot put it into English well.
