2 Corinthians 11

KJV · Chapter 11/13

¹Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.

²For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

³But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

⁴For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

⁵For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.

⁶But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.

⁷Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?

⁸I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.

⁹And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

¹⁰As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.

¹¹Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.

¹²But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.

¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

¹⁶I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.

¹⁷That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

¹⁸Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.

¹⁹For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.

²⁰For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.

²¹I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.

²²Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

²³Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

²⁴Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

²⁵Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

²⁶In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁷In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

²⁸Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

³⁰If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

³¹The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

³²In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:

³³And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul, with irony and some discomfort, finds himself forced to defend his genuine apostolic authority against 'false apostles' who had infiltrated Corinth. He lists the extreme sufferings he endured for the gospel, proving his commitment far beyond any appearance of success.

Explanation

Paul describes himself as being in a temporary state of “folly” in having to defend himself, something he would normally avoid, but which became necessary in the face of self-promoting leaders in Corinth, whom he calls “false apostles” disguising themselves as “angels of light.” The famous list of sufferings — beatings, shipwrecks, constant dangers, hunger, cold — serves as concrete proof of genuine dedication to the gospel, quite unlike the empty rhetoric of rivals seeking personal prestige. The comparison to the serpent deceiving Eve in Eden warns of the danger of being led astray “from the simplicity that is in Christ” through seductive false teaching. Today's practical application is to discern between genuine spiritual leadership, marked by sacrifice and integrity, and leadership that seeks only appearance and personal advantage.

Fun facts

The mention of Paul's escape through a window in a basket in Damascus (v.32-33) is independently confirmed in Acts 9:23-25, a rare instance of a biblical event narrated by two different New Testament sources.
The mention of receiving 'forty stripes save one' five times (v.24) refers to the maximum punishment permitted under Jewish law (Deuteronomy 25:3), which synagogue leaders reduced to 39 lashes as a safety margin, to make sure they never exceeded the biblical limit of 40.

Verse-by-verse explanation

2 Corinthians 11:1He asks the Corinthians in advance to bear with what follows: a section full of ironic “folly,” where he will compare himself to the rivals who are confusing the church.
2 Corinthians 11:2He explains the reason for this almost fatherly jealousy: he had betrothed the church of Corinth as a pure bride to be presented to Christ, and fears losing her to false teaching.
2 Corinthians 11:3Paul uses the image of a marriage: he had “espoused” the church as a pure bride to be given to Christ, and fears she will be seduced by false teaching, just as the serpent deceived Eve through his subtlety.
2 Corinthians 11:4He complains that the Corinthians easily tolerate preachers who bring “another Jesus,” “another spirit,” or “another gospel” different from what he himself preached — showing how they were being deceived.
2 Corinthians 11:5The phrase “the very chiefest apostles” is probably ironic. It seems to refer to a group of rival preachers who arrived in Corinth presenting themselves as superior to Paul, the so-called “super-apostles,” a central theme of this chapter.
2 Corinthians 11:6He admits he isn't as talented a speaker as his rivals (“rude in speech”), but insists that this doesn't affect his genuine knowledge of the gospel, already proven among the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 11:7He asks, ironically, whether preaching for free, without charging anything, was a mistake — answering rivals who used the fact that Paul's work was free against him, as if it proved he wasn't a real apostle.
2 Corinthians 11:8He reveals that he received financial help from other churches precisely so he could serve the Corinthians free of charge, even while in need.
2 Corinthians 11:9Paul defends having refused financial support from the church in Corinth, living instead on help that came from Macedonia. It seems his rivals used this against him, as if his refusal proved he wasn't a “real” apostle — prestigious teachers of the time charged for their teaching.
2 Corinthians 11:10He swears, by the truth of Christ, that he will keep boasting about not having charged the Corinthians anything, in the whole region of Achaia.
2 Corinthians 11:11He anticipates an obvious question about why he refused financial support — was it because he didn't love them? — and answers directly that God knows he loves the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 11:12He explains the real reason for continuing to refuse payment: to cut off any chance for his rivals to boast that they work “even as we” do, since they charged for their own teaching.
2 Corinthians 11:13He openly calls these rivals “false apostles,” describing them as deceitful workers disguising themselves as true apostles of Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:14Paul calls the rivals “false apostles” disguised as messengers of Christ, comparing this to Satan disguising himself as “an angel of light,” a warning that impressive religious appearance is no guarantee of truth.
2 Corinthians 11:15He continues the accusation: since Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light, it's no surprise that his servants also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness — their end will be according to their own works.
2 Corinthians 11:16He apologizes in advance for the tone he's about to use, almost like “a fool,” just so he too can boast a little, the same way his rivals do.
2 Corinthians 11:17He acknowledges that what he's about to say isn't something the Lord himself would command him to say, but he says it anyway, “as it were foolishly,” just to defend himself using the same logic used against him.
2 Corinthians 11:18Since many rivals boast of human credentials (“after the flesh”), Paul decides to do the same, even reluctantly, just to level the comparison.
2 Corinthians 11:19He mocks the Corinthians themselves, saying that, being so “wise,” they easily put up with fools — a subtle criticism for how well they accept the false apostles.
2 Corinthians 11:20He lists, provocatively, how the Corinthians tolerate even mistreatment from these rivals: being enslaved, exploited, deceived, humiliated, and even physically struck.
2 Corinthians 11:21He admits, with heavy irony, that he might be regarded “as though we had been weak” — but warns that, if it's a matter of boldness, he has that too.
2 Corinthians 11:22He begins comparing Jewish credentials with the rivals: Hebrew, Israelite, descendant of Abraham — Paul has the same ethnic and religious credentials they claim to have.
2 Corinthians 11:23He continues the comparison, but changes the criterion: as for being a minister of Christ, Paul considers himself even greater, citing his own sufferings — labors, beatings, imprisonments, and brushes with death, detailed next.
2 Corinthians 11:24He begins the concrete list of sufferings: he received from the Jews, five times, the punishment of thirty-nine lashes (the maximum allowed under Jewish law minus one, for safety).
2 Corinthians 11:25Paul lists real hardships he lived through as an apostle — beatings, stoning, shipwrecks — as concrete proof of his commitment, directly answering the credentials the super-apostles claimed to have.
2 Corinthians 11:26He continues the catalog of dangers: risky journeys, rivers, robbers, persecution from his own countrymen and from Gentiles, dangers in the city, in the wilderness, at sea, and even among false brethren within the faith itself.
2 Corinthians 11:27He adds the daily physical toll: hard labor, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, fasting, and cold — a very concrete and raw portrait of the cost of a traveling missionary's life.
2 Corinthians 11:28Beyond all this physical suffering, he mentions a daily emotional burden: constant concern for the well-being of all the churches he helped found.
2 Corinthians 11:29He describes deep empathy: he feels as his own the weakness of any weak brother, and is troubled whenever someone stumbles in the faith because of another.
2 Corinthians 11:30He sums up the reasoning of the whole chapter: if he must boast of something, he'd rather boast precisely about his own weaknesses, not his strengths or achievements.
2 Corinthians 11:31He swears, calling on God as witness, that everything he told about his own sufferings is true, without exaggeration.
2 Corinthians 11:32He tells of a specific dangerous episode in Damascus: the local governor, serving the Arab king Aretas, posted guards at the city gates specifically to capture him — the same episode narrated in Acts 9.
2 Corinthians 11:33The episode of escaping Damascus lowered in a basket through a hole in the wall is a real historical detail, also narrated in Acts 9, used by Paul as an example of the kind of “strength” he prefers to boast about: not victories, but weaknesses.

Chapters

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