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New Testament in a Year

Read the New Testament from start to finish, from Matthew to Revelation.

Duration: 365 days

2 Corinthians 11:1-15

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! ²For 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. ³But 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. ⁴For 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] ⁵For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.”^[m] ⁶And 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. ⁷Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself^[o] so that you could be exalted, because I proclaimed^[p] the gospel of God to you free of charge? ⁸I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so that I could serve you!^[q] ⁹When^[r] I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs.^[s] I^[t] kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. ¹⁰As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine^[u] will not be stopped^[v] in the regions of Achaia. ¹¹Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!^[w] ¹²And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals^[x] in the things they boast about. ¹³For such people are false apostles, deceitful^[y] workers, disguising themselves^[z] as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself^[aa] as an angel of light. ¹⁵Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves^[ab] as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.^[ac]

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 11:2 tn That is, to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:2 tn Or “chaste.”
2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”
2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “the snake.”
2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “craftiness.”
2 Corinthians 11:3 tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”
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.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Or “preaches.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “a different spirit which you did not receive.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Grk “a different gospel which you did not accept.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 tn Or “you endure it very well.”
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.
2 Corinthians 11:6 sn Unskilled in speaking means not professionally trained as a rhetorician.
2 Corinthians 11:7 sn Paul is referring to humbling himself to the point of doing manual labor to support himself.
2 Corinthians 11:7 tn Or “preached.”
2 Corinthians 11:8 sn That is, serve them free of charge (cf. the end of v. 7).
2 Corinthians 11:9 tn Grk “you, and when.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.
2 Corinthians 11:9 tn If the participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) is taken as temporal rather than adjectival, the translation would be, “for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, fully supplied my needs” (similar to NASB).
2 Corinthians 11:9 tn Grk “needs, and I kept.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.
2 Corinthians 11:10 tn That is, that Paul offers the gospel free of charge to the Corinthians (see 2 Cor 11:7).
2 Corinthians 11:10 tn Or “silenced.”
2 Corinthians 11:11 tn Grk “God knows!” The words “I do” are supplied for clarity. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
2 Corinthians 11:12 tn Grk “an opportunity, so that they may be found just like us.”
2 Corinthians 11:13 tn Or “dishonest.”
2 Corinthians 11:13 tn Or “workers, masquerading.”
2 Corinthians 11:14 tn Or “Satan himself masquerades.”
2 Corinthians 11:15 tn Or “also masquerade.”
2 Corinthians 11:15 tn Or “their works.”

New English Translation (NET)