⁵ I do not think that those “great apostles” are any better than I am. ⁶ I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.

⁷ I preached God’s Good News to you without pay. I made myself unimportant to make you important. Do you think that was wrong? ⁸ I accepted pay from other churches, taking their money so I could serve you. ⁹ If I needed something when I was with you, I did not trouble any of you. The brothers who came from Macedonia gave me all that I needed. I did not allow myself to depend on you in any way, and I will never depend on you. ¹⁰ No one in Southern Greece will stop me from bragging about that. I say this with the truth of Christ in me. ¹¹ And why do I not depend on you? Do you think it is because I do not love you? God knows that I love you.

¹² And I will continue doing what I am doing now, because I want to stop those people from having a reason to brag. They would like to say that the work they brag about is the same as ours. ¹³ Such men are not true apostles but are workers who lie. They change themselves to look like apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ This does not surprise us. Even Satan changes himself to look like an angel of light.^{[a] 15} So it does not surprise us if Satan’s servants also make themselves look like servants who work for what is right. But in the end they will be punished for what they do.