2 Corinthians 10-11

English Standard Version

Paul Defends His Ministry

10 ^(A)I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the ^(B)meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— ² I beg of you ^(C)that when I am present I may not have to show ^(D)boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the ^(E)weapons of ^(F)our warfare are not of the flesh but have ^(G)divine power ^(H)to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and ^(I)every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to ^(J)obey Christ, ^6 (K)being ready to punish every disobedience, ^(L)when your obedience is complete.

^7 (M)Look at what is before your eyes. ^(N)If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as ^(O)he is Christ's, ^(P)so also are we. ⁸ For even if I boast a little too much of ^(Q)our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. ⁹ I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. ¹⁰ For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but ^(R)his bodily presence is weak, and ^(S)his speech of no account.” ¹¹ Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. ¹² Not that we dare to classify or ^(T)compare ourselves with some of those who ^(U)are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are ^(V)without understanding.

¹³ But we will not boast ^(W)beyond limits, but will ^(X)boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, ^(Y)to reach even to you. ¹⁴ For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. ^(Z)For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. ¹⁵ We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that ^(AA)as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be ^(AB)greatly enlarged, ¹⁶ so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. ¹⁷ “Let ^(AC)the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” ¹⁸ For it is ^(AD)not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one ^(AE)whom the Lord commends.

Paul and the False Apostles

11 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! ² For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since ^(AF)I betrothed you to one husband, ^(AG)to present you ^(AH)as a pure virgin to Christ. ³ But I am afraid that ^(AI)as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts ^(AJ)will be led astray from a ^(AK)sincere and ^(AL)pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if someone comes and ^(AM)proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept ^(AN)a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. ⁵ Indeed, I consider that ^(AO)I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. ^6 (AP)Even if I am unskilled in speaking, ^(AQ)I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way ^(AR)we have made this plain to you in all things.

⁷ Or ^(AS)did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because ^(AT)I preached God's gospel to you free of charge? ⁸ I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. ⁹ And when I was with you and was ^(AU)in need, ^(AV)I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia ^(AW)supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain ^(AX)from burdening you in any way. ^10 (AY)As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine ^(AZ)will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. ¹¹ And why? ^(BA)Because I do not love you? ^(BB)God knows I do!

¹² And what I am doing I will continue to do, ^(BC)in 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. ¹³ For such men are ^(BD)false apostles, ^(BE)deceitful workmen, ^(BF)disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as ^(BG)an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as ^(BH)servants of righteousness. ^(BI)Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Paul's Sufferings as an Apostle

¹⁶ I repeat, ^(BJ)let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. ¹⁷ What I am saying ^(BK)with this boastful confidence, ^(BL)I say not as the Lord would^[a] but as a fool. ¹⁸ Since ^(BM)many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. ¹⁹ For you gladly bear with fools, ^(BN)being wise yourselves! ²⁰ For you bear it if someone ^(BO)makes slaves of you, or ^(BP)devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or ^(BQ)strikes you in the face. ²¹ To my shame, I must say, ^(BR)we 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. ²² Are they Hebrews? ^(BS)So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they ^(BT)servants of Christ? ^(BU)I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, ^(BV)far more imprisonments, ^(BW)with countless beatings, and ^(BX)often near death. ²⁴ Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the ^(BY)forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was ^(BZ)beaten with rods. ^(CA)Once I was stoned. Three times I ^(CB)was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, ^(CC)danger from my own people, ^(CD)danger from Gentiles, ^(CE)danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; ^27 (CF)in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, ^(CG)in hunger and thirst, often without food,^[b] in cold and exposure. ²⁸ And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for ^(CH)all the churches. ^29 (CI)Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

^30 (CJ)If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. ^31 (CK)The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^(CL)he who is blessed forever, ^(CM)knows that I am not lying. ³² At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas ^(CN)was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, ^33 (CO)but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.