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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, so that I might (D)present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the (E)serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if [b]one comes and preaches (F)another Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a (G)different spirit which you did not receive, or a (H)different gospel which you did not accept, you (I)bear this (J)beautifully. For I consider myself (K)in no way inferior to the [c]most-eminent apostles. But even if I am (L)unskilled in word, yet I am not so in (M)knowledge; in fact, in every way we have (N)made this evident to you in all things.

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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

Paul Contrasts Himself with False Apostles

11 I wish you would tolerate a little of my foolishness. Yes, please tolerate me! I am jealous of you with God’s own jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to the Messiah.[a] However, I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by its tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from sincere and pure[b] devotion to the Messiah.[c]

For if someone comes along and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or should you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you are all too willing to listen. I do not think I’m inferior in any way to those “super-apostles.” Even though I may be untrained as an orator, I am not so in the field of knowledge. We have made this clear to all of you in every possible way.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:2 Or Christ
  2. 2 Corinthians 11:3 Other mss. lack and pure
  3. 2 Corinthians 11:3 Or Christ