2 Corinthians
Chapter 11
Overview
Paul is defending his work among the Corinthian believers against rival teachers who boast about their status, skill, and Jewish ancestry. He reluctantly answers them in their own style, calling his self-praise foolish even as he uses it to expose what genuine service has cost him. His tone moves from protective concern to sharp sarcasm, then to a startling list of suffering and danger. Yet his final “boast” is not a polished success story. It is an escape through a window in a basket—a fitting reminder that strength can sometimes look remarkably like weakness.
1I wish you would put up with a little foolishness from me. In fact, please do put up with me!
2I care deeply about you with the same protective concern God has. I promised you to one husband, the Messiah, so that I could present you to him like a pure, faithful bride.
3But I am afraid that, just as the snake deceived Eve by its cunning, your minds may be led away from sincere and pure devotion to the Messiah.
4After all, when someone comes and proclaims a different Jesus from the one we proclaimed, or you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different good news from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough!
5I do not consider myself inferior in any way to those people who claim to be “super-apostles”—the Messiah’s greatest representatives.
6I may be an untrained speaker, but I am not lacking in knowledge. We have made that clear to you in every way and in everything.
7Did I do something wrong by lowering myself so that you could be lifted up, because I announced God’s good news to you without charging you?
8I practically robbed other communities of believers by accepting their financial support so that I could serve you.
9When I was with you and needed money, I did not become a burden to anyone. Fellow believers who came from Macedonia supplied what I lacked. I have kept myself from burdening you in every way, and I will continue to do so.
10As surely as the Messiah’s truth is in me, no one throughout the regions of Achaia will silence this boast of mine.
11Why do I say this? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!
12I will continue doing what I am doing so that I can deny an opportunity to those looking for one. They want to boast that their work is equal to ours, but I will leave them no basis for that claim.
13Such people are false representatives, dishonest workers who disguise themselves as representatives of the Messiah.
14That is no surprise, because Satan himself, the spiritual enemy, disguises himself as an angel of light.
15So it is no great surprise if Satan’s servants also disguise themselves as servants who do what is right. In the end, they will receive what their actions deserve.
16I say again: no one should think I am a fool. But if you do, then receive me as you would receive a fool, so that I too may boast a little.
17In making this confident boast, I am not speaking as the Lord would have me speak. I am speaking foolishly.
18Since many people boast about their human advantages, I will boast too.
19You are so wise that you gladly put up with fools!
20You put up with anyone who enslaves you, consumes your resources, takes advantage of you, acts superior, or strikes you in the face.
21To my shame, I admit that we were too weak to behave that way! But whatever anyone else dares to boast about—and I am speaking foolishly—I dare to boast about too.
22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
23Are they servants of the Messiah? I sound out of my mind, but I am far more: I have worked much harder, been imprisoned much more often, suffered countless beatings, and faced death many times.
24Five times I received thirty-nine lashes from Jewish authorities.
25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was attacked with stones. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a full night and day in the open sea.
26I have traveled constantly and faced dangers from rivers, robbers, my own people, and non-Jews. I have faced dangers in cities, in the wilderness, at sea, and among people who falsely claimed to be fellow believers.
27I have endured hard work and exhausting labor, often going without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst, frequently gone without food, and suffered from cold and lack of clothing.
28Besides all these other things, I face daily pressure because of my concern for all the communities of believers.
29When anyone is weak, do I not feel weak too? When anyone is led into wrongdoing, do I not burn with distress?
30If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show my weakness.
31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who deserves praise forever, knows that I am not lying.
32In Damascus, the governor serving King Aretas guarded the city in order to capture me.
33But I was lowered in a basket through an opening in the city wall, and I escaped from his hands.