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Paul and His Opponents

11 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband,[a] to present you as a pure[b] virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that[c] just as the serpent[d] deceived Eve by his treachery,[e] your minds may be led astray[f] from a sincere and pure[g] devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims[h] another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed,[i] or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received,[j] or a different gospel than the one you accepted,[k] you put up with it well enough![l] For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.”[m] And even if I am unskilled[n] in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:2 tn That is, to Christ.
  2. 2 Corinthians 11:2 tn Or “chaste.”
  3. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”
  4. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “the snake.”
  5. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “craftiness.”
  6. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”
  7. 2 Corinthians 11:3 tc Although most mss (א2 H Ψ 0121 0243 1739 1881 M) lack “and pure” (καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, kai tēs hagnotētos; Grk “and purity”) several significant and early witnesses (P46 א* B D[2] F G 33 81 104 ar r co) retain these words. Their presence in such mss across such a wide geographical distribution argues for their authenticity. The omission from the majority of mss can be explained by haplography, since the -τητος ending of ἁγνότητος is identical to the ending of ἁπλότητος (haplotētos, “sincerity”) three words back (ἁπλότητος καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος); further, since the meanings of “sincerity” and “purity” are similar they might seem redundant. A copyist would scarcely notice the omission because Paul’s statement still makes sense without “and from purity.”
  8. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Or “preaches.”
  9. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed.”
  10. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “a different spirit which you did not receive.”
  11. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “a different gospel which you did not accept.”
  12. 2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Or “you endure it very well.”
  13. 2 Corinthians 11:5 tn The implicit irony in Paul’s remark is brought out well by the TEV “I do not think that I am the least bit inferior to those very special so-called ‘apostles’ of yours!”sn The ‘super-apostles’ refers either (1) to the original apostles (the older interpretation) or (2) more probably, to Paul’s opponents in Corinth, in which case the designation is ironic.
  14. 2 Corinthians 11:6 sn Unskilled in speaking means not professionally trained as a rhetorician.

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