2 Corinthians 11–13

Paul and the False Apostles

11I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! ²For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since ⁿI betrothed you to one husband, ^oto present you ^pas a pure virgin to Christ. ³But I am afraid that ^qas the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts ^rwill be led astray from a ^ssincere and ^tpure devotion to Christ. ⁴For if someone comes and ^uproclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept ^va different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. ⁵Indeed, I consider that ^wI am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. ^6xEven if I am unskilled in speaking, ^yI am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way ^zwe have made this plain to you in all things.

⁷Or ^adid I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because ^bI preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? ⁸I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. ⁹And when I was with you and was ^cin need, ^dI did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia ^esupplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain ^ffrom burdening you in any way. ^10gAs the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine ^hwill not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. ¹¹And why? ⁱBecause I do not love you? ^jGod knows I do!

¹²And what I am doing I will continue to do, ^kin order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. ¹³For such men are ^lfalse apostles, ^mdeceitful workmen, ⁿdisguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as ^oan angel of light. ¹⁵So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as ^pservants of righteousness. ^qTheir end will correspond to their deeds.

Paul’s Sufferings as an Apostle

¹⁶I repeat, ^rlet no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. ¹⁷What I am saying ^swith this boastful confidence, ^tI say not as the Lord would¹ but as a fool. ¹⁸Since ^umany boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. ¹⁹For you gladly bear with fools, ^vbeing wise yourselves! ²⁰For you bear it if someone ^wmakes slaves of you, or ^xdevours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or ^ystrikes you in the face. ²¹To my shame, I must say, ^zwe were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. ²²Are they Hebrews? ^aSo am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. ²³Are they ^bservants of Christ? ^cI am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, ^dfar more imprisonments, ^ewith countless beatings, and ^foften near death. ²⁴Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the ^gforty lashes less one. ²⁵Three times I was ^hbeaten with rods. ⁱOnce I was stoned. Three times I ^jwas shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ²⁶on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, ^kdanger from my own people, ^ldanger from Gentiles, ^mdanger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; ²⁷ⁿin toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, ^oin hunger and thirst, often without food,² in cold and exposure. ²⁸And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for ^pall the churches. ^29qWho is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

^30rIf I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. ^31sThe God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^the who is blessed forever, ^uknows that I am not lying. ³²At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas ^vwas guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, ^33wbut I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

Paul’s Visions and His Thorn

12I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and ^xrevelations of the Lord. ²I know a man ^yin Christ who fourteen years ago was ^zcaught up to ^athe third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^bGod knows. ³And I know that this man was caught up into ^cparadise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^bGod knows— ⁴and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, ^dexcept of my weaknesses— ⁶though if I should wish to boast, ^eI would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. ⁷So ^fto keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,^{1 g}a thorn was given me in the flesh, ^ha messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸ⁱThree times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, ^j“My grace is sufficient for you, for ^kmy power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that ^lthe power of Christ may rest upon me. ^10mFor the sake of Christ, then, ⁿI am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For ^owhen I am weak, then I am strong.

Concern for the Corinthian Church

^11pI have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was ^qnot at all inferior to these super-apostles, ^reven though I am nothing. ^12sThe signs of a true apostle were performed among you ^twith utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. ¹³For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that ^uI myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴Here ^vfor the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for ^wI seek not what is yours but you. For ^xchildren are not obligated to save up for their parents, but ^yparents for their children. ^15zI will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If ^aI love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶But granting that ^bI myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. ¹⁷Did I take advantage of you ^cthrough any of those whom I sent to you? ^18dI urged Titus to go, and sent ^ethe brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is ^fin the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and ^gall for your upbuilding, beloved. ²⁰For I fear that perhaps ^hwhen I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. ²¹I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those ⁱwho sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, ^jsexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

Final Warnings

13^kThis is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established ^lby the evidence of two or three witnesses. ^2mI warned ⁿthose who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that ^oif I come again I will not spare them— ³since you seek proof that Christ ^pis speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but ^qis powerful among you. ⁴For ^rhe was crucified in weakness, but ^slives by the power of God. For ^twe also are weak in him, but in dealing with you ^uwe will live with him by the power of God.

⁵Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. ^vTest yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that ^wJesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ⁷But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. ⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹For we are glad when ^xwe are weak and you are strong. Your ^yrestoration is what we pray for. ¹⁰For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come ^zI may not have to be ^asevere in my use of ^bthe authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Final Greetings

¹¹Finally, brothers,¹ rejoice. ^cAim for restoration, comfort one another,^{2 d}agree with one another, ^elive in peace; and the God of love and ^fpeace will be with you. ^12gGreet one another with a holy kiss. ^13hAll the saints greet you.

¹⁴ⁱThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and ^jthe love of God and ^kthe fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.