Paul Defends His Apostleship

11 I wish that you would (A)bear with me in a little (B)foolishness; but [a]indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I (C)betrothed you to one husband, to (D)present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that, as the (E)serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if [b]one comes and preaches (F)another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a (G)different spirit which you have not received, or a (H)different gospel which you have not accepted, this you (I)tolerate (J)very well! For I consider myself (K)not in the least inferior to the [c]most eminent apostles. But even if I am (L)unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in (M)knowledge; in fact, in every way we have (N)made this evident to you in all things.

Or (O)did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the (P)gospel of God to you (Q)without charge? I robbed other churches by (R)taking wages from them to serve you; and when I was present with you and was in need, I was (S)not a burden to anyone; for when (T)the brothers came from (U)Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from (V)being a burden to you, [d]and will continue to do so. 10 (W)As the truth of Christ is in me, (X)this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of (Y)Achaia. 11 Why? (Z)Because I do not love you? (AA)God knows that I do!

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:1 Or do indeed bear with me
  2. 2 Corinthians 11:4 Lit the one who comes preaches
  3. 2 Corinthians 11:5 Or super-apostles
  4. 2 Corinthians 11:9 Lit and I will keep

Paul and the False Apostles

11 I hope you will put up with(A) me in a little foolishness.(B) Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband,(C) to Christ, so that I might present you(D) as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning,(E) your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached,(F) or if you receive a different spirit(G) from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel(H) from the one you accepted, you put up with it(I) easily enough.

I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.”[a](J) I may indeed be untrained as a speaker,(K) but I do have knowledge.(L) We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it a sin(M) for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God(N) to you free of charge?(O) I robbed other churches by receiving support from them(P) so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed.(Q) I have kept myself from being a burden to you(R) in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me,(S) nobody in the regions of Achaia(T) will stop this boasting(U) of mine. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows(V) I do!(W)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:5 Or to the most eminent apostles