King James Version
2 Corinthians 11
33 verses with commentary
Paul and the False Apostles
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. indeed bear: or, indeed ye do bear with me
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<strong>Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.</strong> Paul introduces the 'fool's speech' (<em>aphrosyne</em>, ἀφροσύνη) that will dominate chapters 11-12. The Greek verb <em>anechesthe</em> (ἀνέχεσθε, 'bear with') appears twice—first as wish, then as assertion. Paul must adopt his opponents' foolish boasting strategy to expose its folly.<br><br>This ir...
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**XI.**
(1) **Would to God.**—As the words “to God” are not in the Greek, it would be better to treat them as the general expression of a wish: *Would that ye could bear.*
**Ye could bear with me a little in my folly.**—There are two catch-words, as it were, which characterise the section of the Epistle on which we are now entering: one is of “bearing with,” or “tolerating,” which occurs five time...
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**5. grief ... grieved--**Translate as before, "sorrow ... made sorry." The "any" is a delicate way of referring to the incestuous person.
**not ... me, but in part--**He has grieved me only in part (compare 2Co 1:14; Ro 11:25), that is, I am not the sole party aggrieved; most of you, also, were aggrieved.
**that I may not overcharge--**that I may not unduly lay the weight of the charge on you...
Read full commentary →For 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.
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<strong>For 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.</strong> Paul reveals the motivation behind his uncomfortable 'boasting'—divine jealousy (<em>zelos theou</em>, ζῆλος θεοῦ). This is not petty envy but the fierce protective love of God for His covenant people, the jealousy that tolerates no rivals.<br...
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(2) **For I** **am jealous over you . . .**—The word is used with the same sense as in the nearly contemporary passage of Galatians 4:17, and the whole passage may be paraphrased thus: “I court your favour with a jealous care, which is not a mere human affection, but after the pattern of that of God.” There is probably an implied contrast between the true jealousy which thus worked in his soul and...
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**6. Sufficient--**without increasing it, which would only drive him to despair (2Co 2:7), whereas the object of the punishment was, "that (his) spirit might be saved" in the last day.
**to such a man--**a milder designation of the offender than if he had been named [Meyer]. Rather, it expresses estrangement from such a one who had caused such grief to the Church, and scandal to religion (Ac 22:...
Read full commentary →But 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.
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<strong>But 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.</strong> Paul's fear (<em>phoboumai</em>, φοβοῦμαι) is not anxiety but pastoral vigilance. The Genesis 3 typology is striking: the false apostles play the serpent's role, the Corinthians are Eve, and the threat is corruption from Christ-c...
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(3) **But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent . . .**—An allusive reference to the history of Genesis 3, which meets us again in 1Timothy 3:13-15. St. Paul either takes for granted that the disciples at Corinth will recognise the “serpent” as the symbol of the great Tempter, as in Revelation 12:9; or, without laying stress on that identification, simply compares the work of the rival teacher...
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**7. with overmuch sorrow--**Greek, "with HIS overmuch sorrow."
For 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. with him: or, with me
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<strong>For 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.</strong> Paul's biting irony reaches its peak: the Corinthians tolerate false teachers proclaiming <em>allon Iēsoun</em> (ἄλλον Ἰησοῦν, 'another Jesus'), <em>pneuma heteron</em> (πν...
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(4) **For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus.**—The singular points, like the “any man,” “such an one,” of 2Corinthians 10:7; 2Corinthians 10:11, to an individual teacher who had made himself conspicuously prominent. The words throw light on Galatians 1:7-8. The false teachers in Galatia and those at Corinth were doing the same thing. In the absence of fuller knowledge of what they taught, ...
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**8. confirm your love toward him--**by giving effect in act, and showing in deeds your love; namely, by restoring him to your fellowship and praying for his recovering from the sickness penally inflicted on him.
For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
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<strong>For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.</strong> Paul's ironic self-defense begins. The phrase <em>tōn hyperlian apostolōn</em> (τῶν ὑπερλίαν ἀποστόλων, 'super-apostles' or 'most eminent apostles') drips with sarcasm. These self-styled leaders claimed superior credentials, but Paul asserts he is 'not a whit behind' (<em>husterēkenai</em>, ὑστερηκέναι, 'to be infer...
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(5) **For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.**—The verb with which the sentence opens is the same as the “I think,” “I reckon,” which characterises these chapters, and which, being characteristic, ought to be retained. *I reckon I have not fallen short of those apostles-extraordinary.* The whole tone of the passage ought to have made it impossible for any commentator to ...
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**9. For--**Additional reason why they should restore the offender, namely, as a "proof" of their obedience "in all things"; now in love, as previously in punishing (2Co 2:6), at the apostle's desire. Besides his other reasons for deferring his visit, he had the further view, though, perhaps, unperceived by them, of making an experiment of their fidelity. This accounts for his deferring to give, i...
Read full commentary →But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
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<strong>But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge: but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.</strong> Paul concedes the charge leveled against him: <em>idiōtēs tō logō</em> (ἰδιώτης τῷ λόγῳ, 'unskilled/untrained in speech'). He was no polished Greco-Roman orator like Apollos (1 Cor 2:1-5; 2 Cor 10:10). His opponents valued rhetorical sophistication; Paul valued g...
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(6) **But though I be rude in speech.**—The word for “rude” is the same as that translated as “unlearned” in 1Corinthians 14:23-24. This, then, had also been said of him by some at Corinth. It might seem at first as if the contemptuous criticism was likely to have come from the Hellenic or paganising party of culture, who despised the Apostle because he was without the polish and eloquence of the ...
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10. Another encouragement to their taking on themselves the responsibility of restoring the offender. They may be assured of Paul's apostolic sanction to their doing so.
**for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it--**The oldest manuscripts read, "For even what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything."
**for your sakes forgave I it--**He uses the past tense, as of a thing already det...
Read full commentary →Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
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<strong>Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?</strong> Paul's rhetorical question highlights the absurdity: he is criticized for working with his hands to support himself rather than accepting payment from the Corinthians. His self-abasement (<em>emauton tapeinōn</em>, ἐμαυτὸν ταπεινῶν, 'humbling myself') th...
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(7) **Have I committed an offence** (literally, *a sin*) **in abasing myself . . .?**—The rival teachers apparently boasted of their disinterestedness. “They didn’t come for what they could get.” St. Paul, we know, more than most men, had acted on the law of which they boasted as their special distinction, and in 1Corinthians 9:1-18, in the discussion on the question of eating things sacrificed to...
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11. Literally, "That we may have no advantage gained over us by Satan," namely, by letting one of our members be lost to us through despair, we ourselves furnishing Satan with the weapon, by our repulsive harshness to one now penitent. The loss of a single sinner is a common loss; therefore, in 2Co 2:10, he said, "for your sakes." Paul had "delivered" the offender "to Satan for the destruction of ...
Read full commentary →I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
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<strong>I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.</strong> Paul's hyperbolic metaphor <em>esylēsa</em> (ἐσύλησα, 'I robbed/plundered') describes accepting support from Macedonian churches (Phil 4:15-16; Acts 20:34) while serving in Corinth. Military language depicts him as a soldier plundering one city to defend another. <em>Opsōnion</em> (ὀψώνιον, 'wages/pay') was technica...
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(8) **I robbed other churches, taking wages of them.**—The word for wages—strictly *rations,* or wages in kind, rather than in money—is found in Luke 3:14; Romans 6:23; 1Corinthians 9:7. Its use in the last-named passage had, perhaps, given occasion for a sneer. “He too can take wages when it suits his purpose.” From St. Paul’s point of view, if what he had received had been wages at all, he had b...
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12. Paul expected to meet Titus at Troas, to receive the tidings as to the effect of his first Epistle on the Corinthian Church; but, disappointed in his expectation there, he passed on to Macedonia, where he met him at last (2Co 7:5, 6, 7) The history (Acts) does not record his passing through Troas, in going from Ephesus to Macedonia; but it does in coming from that country (Ac 20:6); also, that...
Read full commentary →And 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.
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<strong>And 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.</strong> Paul's determination appears in the perfect tense <em>katenarekēsa</em> (κατενάρκησα, 'I was burdensome') negated—and future <em>tēr...
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(9) **I was chargeable to no man.**—There is no doubt that this gives substantially the meaning of the Greek word, but the word is a very peculiar one, and has a history which, as throwing light on the sources of St. Paul’s phraseology, and his character as shown in his use of it, is not without interest. The verb (*katanarkaô*) is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, nor in the LXX. versions...
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**13. no rest in my spirit--**rather, "no rest for my spirit" (Ge 8:9). As here his "spirit" had no rest; so in 2Co 7:5, his "flesh." His "spirit" under the Holy Spirit, hence, concluded that it was not necessary to avail himself of the "door" of usefulness at Troas any longer.
**taking ... leave of them--**the disciples at Troas.
As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. no man: Gr. this boasting shall not be stopped in me
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<strong>As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.</strong> Paul swears an oath with ultimate solemnity: <em>estin alētheia Christou en emoi</em> (ἔστιν ἀλήθεια Χριστοῦ ἐν ἐμοί, 'the truth of Christ is in me'). This genitive can mean truth about Christ, truth from Christ, or Christ's own truthfulness residing in Paul—likely all three. He stakes...
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(10) **As the truth of Christ is in me . .**—The formula is almost, though not quite, of the nature of an oath. He speaks here, as in Romans 9:1, in the consciousness that the truth of Christ (the objective sense of the truth revealed in Christ seems almost merged in the subjective sense of the truthfulness that was of the essence of His nature) dwells in him, and that therefore he cannot but spea...
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**14. Now--**Greek, "But." Though we left Troas disappointed in not meeting Titus there, and in having to leave so soon so wide a door, "thanks be unto God," we were triumphantly blessed in both the good news of you from Titus, and in the victories of the Gospel everywhere in our progress. The cause of triumph cannot be restricted (as Alford explains) to the former; for "always," and "in every pla...
Read full commentary →Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
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<strong>Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.</strong> Paul anticipates the objection: his refusal of Corinthian support must mean he doesn't love them. Teachers accepted payment from students they valued; Paul's rejection of their money seems like rejection of them. The abrupt questions—<em>diati</em> (διατί, 'why?'), <em>hoti ouk agapō hymas</em> (ὅτι οὐκ ἀγαπῶ ὑμᾶς, 'because I don't l...
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(11) **Because I love you not . .**—This then had been said. Some of the Corinthians were jealous, or affected to be jealous, of the preference shown to the Macedonians in receiving gifts from them. With an emphatic appeal to Him who reads the secrets of men’s hearts, he disclaims that imputation.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. The order is in Greek, "For (it is) of Christ (that) we are a sweet savor unto God"; thus, the "for" justifies his previous words (2Co 2:14), "the savor of His (Christ's) knowledge." We not only scatter the savor; but "we are the sweet savor" itself (So 1:3; compare Joh 1:14, 16; Ep 5:2; 1Jo 2:27).
**in them that are saved--**rather, "that are being saved ... that are perishing" (see on 1Co ...
Read full commentary →But 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.
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<strong>But 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.</strong> Paul's resolve intensifies: <em>ho de poiō kai poiēsō</em> (ὃ δὲ ποιῶ καὶ ποιήσω, 'what I do, I will also do'). Present and future tenses underscore unwavering commitment to financial independence. The purpose: <em>ekopsō tēn aphormēn</...
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(12) **That I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion.**—It lies on the surface that the “occasion,” or *opening for attack,* which his opponents had thus desired, was one against which he guarded himself by not taking money. They boasted of their own disinterestedness. They taunted him with his meanness in taking money from the Macedonian churches. The Apostle wishes, therefore, by p...
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**16. savour of death unto death ... of life unto life--**an odor arising out of death (a mere announcement of a dead Christ, and a virtually lifeless Gospel, in which light unbelievers regard the Gospel message), ending (as the just and natural consequence) in death (to the unbeliever); (but to the believer) an odor arising out of life (that is, the announcement of a risen and living Saviour), en...
Read full commentary →For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
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<strong>For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.</strong> Paul's verdict on the 'super-apostles' is devastating: <em>pseudapostoloi</em> (ψευδαπόστολοι, 'false apostles'), <em>ergatai dolioi</em> (ἐργάται δόλιοι, 'deceitful/fraudulent workers'). These are not merely mistaken but actively deceptive—<em>dolioi</em> implies craftiness, treac...
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(13) **For such are false apostles . . .**—St. Paul’s estimate of the character of his rivals is now given in unsparing language as the reason why he desires to deprive them of any claim which may give them an adventitious superiority to him. In the term “false apostles” we have the explanation of the “apostles extraordinary” of 2Corinthians 11:5. These “*crafty* workers” were carrying on a system...
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**17. not as many--**(2Co 11:18; Php 2:21). Rather, "the many," namely, the false teachers of whom he treats (tenth through twelfth chapters, especially 2Co 11:13; 1Th 2:3).
**which corrupt--**Greek, "adulterating, as hucksters do wine for gain" (2Co 4:2; Is 1:22; 2Pe 2:3, "Make merchandise of you").
**as of sincerity ... as of God--**as one speaking from (out of) sincerity, as from (that is, ...
Read full commentary →And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
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<strong>And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.</strong> Paul grounds the false apostles' disguise in Satan's own methodology: <em>autos gar ho Satanas metaschēmatizetai eis angelon phōtos</em> (αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Σατανᾶς μετασχηματίζεται εἰς ἄγγελον φωτός, 'Satan himself transforms into an angel of light'). The present tense indicates habitual practice—this is Satan's cha...
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(14) **For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.**—The present tense of the original excludes the thought that reference is made to any special incident (such as the appearance of Satan among “the sons of God,” of Job 1:6) recorded in the Old Testament, or in tradition. The thought is rather that Satan is ever so transforming himself. If we are to look for any special allusion, we m...
Read full commentary →Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
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<strong>Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.</strong> If Satan masquerades as light, <em>ou mega</em> (οὐ μέγα, 'it is no great thing') that <em>hoi diakonoi autou</em> (οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ, 'his servants/ministers') do likewise. <em>Metaschēmatizōntai</em> (μετασχηματίζωνται, 'be transform...
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(15) **If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.**—The words seem to point to one of the special characteristics of the Apostle’s rivals. They represented themselves as the preachers of a righteousness which was, they asserted, neglected in St. Paul’s teaching. They claimed the authority of one who was known as James the Just, or Righteous, and who had insisted emphat...
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CHAPTER 3
2Co 3:1-18. The Sole Commendation He Needs to Prove God's Sanction of His Ministry He Has in His Corinthian Converts: His Ministry Excels the Mosaic, as the Gospel of Life and Liberty Excels the Law of Condemnation.
1. Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves (2Co 5:12) (as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)!
...
Read full commentary →Paul's Sufferings as an Apostle
I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. receive: or, suffer
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<strong>I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.</strong> Paul returns to the 'fool's speech' after the digression on false apostles. The repetition <em>palin legō</em> (πάλιν λέγω, 'I say again') echoes verse 1. <em>Mē tis me doxē aphrona einai</em> (μή τίς με δόξῃ ἄφρονα εἶναι, 'let no one think me foolish') acknowledges t...
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(16) **I say again, Let no man think me a fool . . .**—The stinging word is repeated from 2Corinthians 11:1. He protests against the justice of the taunt. He pleads that, even if they think him “insane” (this, rather than mere foolishness, is probably the meaning of the word), they will give him the attention which, even in that case, most men would give—which they, at least, were giving to men to...
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**2. our epistle--**of recommendation.
**in our hearts--**not letters borne merely in the hands. Your conversion through my instrumentality, and your faith which is "known of all men" by widespread report (1Co 1:4-7), and which is written by memory and affection on my inmost heart and is borne about wherever I go, is my letter of recommendation (1Co 9:2).
**known and read--**words akin in root...
Read full commentary →That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly , in this confidence of boasting.
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<strong>That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.</strong> Paul's disclaimer is crucial: <em>ho lalō, ou kata kyrion lalō</em> (ὃ λαλῶ, οὐ κατὰ κύριον λαλῶ, 'what I speak, I speak not according to the Lord'). This is not divine revelation but strategic irony. <em>Kata kyrion</em> (κατὰ κύριον) means 'in accordance with the Lord's m...
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(17) **I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly.**—Better, *in foolishness;* as keeping up the emphatic repetition of the same word in the English as in the Greek. From one point of view the distinction drawn is the same as that which we find in 1Corinthians 7:6; 1Corinthians 7:10; 1Corinthians 7:12. There is, however, a marked difference in the subject-matter of the two cases. Ther...
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**3. declared--**The letter is written so legibly that it can be "read by all men" (2Co 3:2). Translate, "Being manifestly shown to be an Epistle of Christ"; a letter coming manifestly from Christ, and "ministered by us," that is, carried about and presented by us as its (ministering) bearers to those (the world) for whom it is intended: Christ is the Writer and the Recommender, ye are the letter ...
Read full commentary →Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
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<strong>Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.</strong> Paul's logic: <em>epei polloi kauchaōntai kata sarka</em> (ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ καυχῶνται κατὰ σάρκα, 'since many boast according to flesh'), <em>kagō kauchēsomai</em> (κἀγὼ καυχήσομαι, 'I also will boast'). <em>Kata sarka</em> (κατὰ σάρκα, 'according to flesh') means by worldly standards—ancestry, credentials, accomplishments, str...
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(18) **Seeing that many glory after the flesh.**—To glory, or *boast,* after the flesh, as interpreted by 2Corinthians 5:16 (where see Note), is to lay stress on things which are the accidents of the spiritual life, not of its true essence—on descent, prerogatives, rank, reputation, and the like. There is a touch half of irony, half of impatience, in the way in which the Apostle says that he too w...
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**4. And--**Greek, "But." "Such confidence, however (namely, of our 'sufficiency,' 2Co 3:5, 6; 2Co 2:16--to which he reverts after the parenthesis--as ministers of the New Testament, 'not hinting,' 2Co 4:1), we have through Christ (not through ourselves, compare 2Co 3:18) toward God" (that is, in our relation to God and His work, the ministry committed by Him to us, for which we must render an acc...
Read full commentary →For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
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<strong>For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.</strong> Paul's biting sarcasm targets the Corinthians' intellectual pride. <em>Hēdeōs gar anechesthe tōn aphronōn</em> (ἡδέως γὰρ ἀνέχεσθε τῶν ἀφρόνων, 'gladly you tolerate the foolish') describes their embrace of the false apostles' boasting. <em>Phronimoi ontes</em> (φρόνιμοι ὄντες, 'being wise/sensible') is heavy irony—they thi...
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(19) **Ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.**—He falls back into the strain of irony of 1Corinthians 4:8-10, to which, indeed, the whole passage presents a striking parallelism. He assumes that in their serene, self-complacent wisdom they will be willing to tolerate even those whom they look upon as half-insane. He drives the sarcasm home by urging that they tolerate those who ar...
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5. The Greek is, "Not that we are (even yet after so long experience as ministers) sufficient to think anything OF ourselves as (coming) FROM ourselves; but our sufficiency is (derived) FROM God." "From" more definitely refers to the source out of which a thing comes; "of" is more general.
**to think--**Greek, to "reason out" or "devise"; to attain to sound preaching by our reasonings [Theodoret...
Read full commentary →For 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.
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<strong>For 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.</strong> Paul's fivefold catalog of the Corinthians' submission to abuse is devastating. Each <em>ei</em> (εἰ, 'if') clause describes what they tolerate from false apostles while rejecting Paul's loving service. The repetition of <em>tis</em> (τ...
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(20) **For ye suffer, if a man bring you into** **bondage.**—Every word in the sentence clearly points to something that Titus had told him of the action of these rival teachers. They reproduced, in their worst form, the vices of the Pharisaism of Palestine (Matthew 23:4; Matthew 23:14; Matthew 23:25). They enslaved the consciences of men (the same word is used of the same class of men in Galatian...
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**6. able--**rather, as the Greek is the same, corresponding to 2Co 3:5, translate, "sufficient as ministers" (Ep 3:7; Col 1:23).
**the new testament--**"the new covenant" as contrasted with the Old Testament or covenant (1Co 11:25; Ga 4:24). He reverts here again to the contrast between the law on "tables of stone," and that "written by the Spirit on fleshly tables of the heart" (2Co 3:3).
**...
Read full commentary →I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly ,) I am bold also.
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<strong>I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.</strong> Paul's mock shame at being 'weak' continues the irony. <em>Kata atimian legō</em> (κατὰ ἀτιμίαν λέγω, 'I speak according to dishonor/shame') introduces his confession: <em>hōs hoti hēmeis ēsthenēsamen</em> (ὡς ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠσθενήσαμεν, 'as if we have bee...
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(21) **I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak.**—Better, *I speak it as a matter of reproach to myself, as though we were weak.* The irony becomes more intense than ever. He has named these acts of outrage, he says, as though by way of self-disparagement. “*We*” (the pronoun is strongly emphasised) “were too infirm to venture on such things.” The taunt flung at his bodily infir...
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**7. the ministration of death--**the legal dispensation, summed up in the Decalogue, which denounces death against man for transgression.
**written and engraven in stones--**There is no "and" in the Greek. The literal translation is, "The ministration of death in letters," of which "engraven on stones" is an explanation. The preponderance of oldest manuscripts is for the English Version reading...
Read full commentary →Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
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<strong>Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.</strong> The rapid-fire threefold claim establishes Paul's Jewish credentials matching the 'super-apostles.' <em>Hebraioi</em> (Ἑβραῖοι, 'Hebrews')—pure Jewish heritage, likely Aramaic-speaking. <em>Israēlitai</em> (Ἰσραηλῖται, 'Israelites')—members of the covenant people. <em>Sperma Abraam</em>...
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(22) **Are they Hebrews**?—This, then, was one of their boasts. They were Jews of Palestine, speaking Aramaic, reading the Law and Prophets in the original. He, they asserted, or implied, was a Hellenistic Jew (his birth at Tarsus naturally suggesting that thought), content to use the Greek version of the LXX., over which many of the more exclusive Hebrews mourned on an annual fast-day as a nation...
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**8. be rather glorious--**literally, "be rather (that is, still more, invested) in glory." "Shall be," that is, shall be found to be in part now, but fully when the glory of Christ and His saints shall be revealed.
Are 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.
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<strong>Are 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.</strong> The climactic comparison begins: <em>diakonoi Christou eisin</em> (διάκονοι Χριστοῦ εἰσίν, 'are they ministers of Christ?'). Paul's answer <em>hyper egō</em> (ὑπὲρ ἐγώ, 'more I!')—grammatically fragmented by emotion. The parenthe...
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(23) **Are they ministers of Christ?**—It is obvious that this title was claimed by the rival teachers in some special sense. They were “ministers of Christ” in a nearer and a higher sense than others. This again falls in with all that has been said as to the nature and pretensions of those who said, “I am of Christ.” (See Notes on 2Corinthians 10:7; 1Corinthians 1:12.)
**I speak as a fool.**—The ...
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**9. ministration of condemnation--**the law regarded in the "letter" which "killeth" (2Co 3:6; Ro 7:9-11). The oldest existing manuscript seems to read as English Version. But most of the almost contemporary manuscripts, versions, and Fathers, read, "If to the ministration of condemnation there be glory."
**the ministration of righteousness--**the Gospel, which especially reveals the righteousn...
Read full commentary →Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
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<strong>Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.</strong> The detailed suffering catalog begins with Jewish synagogue punishment: <em>hypo Ioudaiōn pentakis tesserakonta para mian elabon</em> (ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πεντάκις τεσσεράκοντα παρὰ μίαν ἔλαβον, 'from Jews five times forty lashes minus one I received'). This was the <em>malkut</em> prescribed by Deuteronomy 25:2-3, limited to fort...
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(24) **Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.**—None of these are recorded in the Acts. It is probable that the words refer to the early period of his work in Cilicia, which is implied though not recorded in that book. (See Note on Acts 15:41). The number of the stripes in Jewish punishments of this kind rested on the rule of Deuteronomy 25:3, which fixed forty as the *maximum.*...
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10. For even the ministration of condemnation, the law, 2Co 3:7 (which has been glorified at Sinai in Moses' person), has now (English Version translates less fitly, "was made ... had") lost its glory in this respect by reason of the surpassing glory (of the Gospel): as the light of the stars and moon fades in the presence of the sun.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
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<strong>Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep.</strong> Four more categories of suffering pile up: <em>tris errabdisthēn</em> (τρὶς ἐρραβδίσθην, 'three times I was beaten with rods')—Roman punishment for citizens improperly (Acts 16:22-23 records one). <em>Hapax elithasthēn</em> (ἅπαξ ἐλιθάσθην, 'once I was stoned')...
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(25) **Once was I stoned.**—Here the Acts (Acts 14:19) give us the solitary instance at Lystra. The accuracy of the Apostle in referring to this form of suffering, where we can compare it with the history, may fairly be urged as evidence of a like accuracy in his other statements.
**Thrice I suffered shipwreck.**—Again we have a picture of unrecorded sufferings, which we must refer either to the p...
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**11. was glorious--**literally, "was with glory"; or "marked by glory."
**that which remaineth--**abideth (Re 14:6). Not "the ministry," but the Spirit, and His accompaniments, life and righteousness.
**is glorious--**literally, "is in glory." The Greek "with" or "by" is appropriately applied to that of which the glory was transient. "In" to that of which the glory is permanent. The contrast ...
Read full commentary →In 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;
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<strong>In 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.</strong> Eight categories of <em>kindynois</em> (κινδύνοις, 'dangers/perils') cascade in rapid succession, creating a comprehensive catalog of threats Paul faced...
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(26) **In journeyings often.**—Again we enter on a list of activities and sufferings of which this is the only, or nearly the only, record. Some of them may be referred to journeys (as above) before his arrival at Antioch; some, probably, to that from Antioch to Ephesus through the interior of Asia Minor (Acts 18:23; Acts 19:1); some to excursions from Ephesus. The “perils of waters” (better, *riv...
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**12. such hope--**of the future glory, which shall result from the ministration of the Gospel (2Co 3:8, 9).
**plainness of speech--**openness; without reserve (2Co 2:17; 4:2).
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
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<strong>In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.</strong> Five more categories of suffering focus on physical deprivation and exhaustion: <em>en kopō kai mochthō</em> (ἐν κόπῳ καὶ μόχθῳ, 'in labor and toil')—overlapping synonyms emphasizing exhausting work. <em>En agrypniais pollakis</em> (ἐν ἀγρυπνίαις πολλάκις, 'in sleeples...
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(27) **In weariness and painfullness . . .**—The same combination meets us in 2Thessalonians 3:8, where the English version has “labour and travail,” as Tyndale and Cranmer have in this passage. “Weariness and painfulness” appear first in the Geneva version; *toil and trouble* is, perhaps, the best English equivalent. From the use of the phrase in 2Thessalonians 3:8, it probably refers chiefly to ...
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13. We use no disguise, "as Moses put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel might not look steadfastly upon the end of that which was to be done away" [Ellicott and others]. The view of Ex 34:30-35, according to the Septuagint is adopted by Paul, that Moses in going in to speak to God removed the veil till he came out and had spoken to the people; and then when he had done speaking, he...
Read full commentary →Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
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<strong>Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.</strong> After the extensive physical sufferings catalog, Paul identifies the greatest burden: <em>chōris tōn parektos</em> (χωρὶς τῶν παρεκτός, 'apart from external things')—all the dangers and deprivations just listed. <em>Hē epistasis moi hē kath' hēmeran</em> (ἡ ἐπίστασίς μοι ἡ καθ᾽ ἡμέ...
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(28) **That which cometh upon me daily . . .**—The word so translated primarily signifies a “rush” or “tumult,” and is so used in Acts 24:12. Here that meaning is excluded by the fact that perils of that nature had been already specified, and that he now manifestly speaks of something differing in kind as well as in degree. But there is, as our modern phraseology shows, such a thing as a “rush” of...
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14-18. Parenthetical: Of Christians in general. He resumes the subject of the ministry, 2Co 4:1.
**minds--**Greek, "mental perceptions"; "understandings."
**blinded--**rather, "hardened." The opposite to "looking steadfastly at the end" of the law (2Co 3:13). The veil on Moses' face is further typical of the veil that is on their hearts.
**untaken away ... which veil--**rather, "the same vei...
Read full commentary →Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
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<strong>Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?</strong> The rhetorical questions reveal Paul's empathetic identification with the churches' struggles. <em>Tis asthenei, kai ouk asthenō</em> (τίς ἀσθενεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀσθενῶ, 'who is weak, and I am not weak?')—he feels others' weakness as his own. <em>Tis skandalizetai, kai ouk egō pyromai</em> (τίς σκανδαλίζεται, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ π...
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(29) **Who is weak and I am not weak . . .?**—The words obviously spring from a recollection of all that was involved in that “rush” of which he had just spoken. Did any come to him with his tale of body-sickness or soul-sickness, he, in his infinite sympathy, felt as if he shared in it. He claimed no exemption from their infirmities, was reminded by every such tale of his own liability to them. T...
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14-18. Parenthetical: Of Christians in general. He resumes the subject of the ministry, 2Co 4:1.
**minds--**Greek, "mental perceptions"; "understandings."
**blinded--**rather, "hardened." The opposite to "looking steadfastly at the end" of the law (2Co 3:13). The veil on Moses' face is further typical of the veil that is on their hearts.
**untaken away ... which veil--**rather, "the same vei...
Read full commentary →If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
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<strong>If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.</strong> The climax of Paul's 'boasting': <em>ei kauchasthai dei</em> (εἰ καυχᾶσθαι δεῖ, 'if it is necessary to boast'), <em>ta tēs astheneias mou kauchēsomai</em> (τὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας μου καυχήσομαι, 'I will boast of my weaknesses'). The conditional <em>ei</em> (εἰ) with <em>dei</em> (δεῖ, 'it is necessary') su...
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(30) **If I must needs glory . . .**—The words form a transition to the narratives that follow. The question, “Who is weak and I am not weak?” has suggested *the* thought of the weakness and infirmity of various kinds with which his enemies reproached him. He will glory—here also with a touch of grave irony—in these and will leave his rivals to find what ground for boasting they can in what they c...
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14-18. Parenthetical: Of Christians in general. He resumes the subject of the ministry, 2Co 4:1.
**minds--**Greek, "mental perceptions"; "understandings."
**blinded--**rather, "hardened." The opposite to "looking steadfastly at the end" of the law (2Co 3:13). The veil on Moses' face is further typical of the veil that is on their hearts.
**untaken away ... which veil--**rather, "the same vei...
Read full commentary →The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
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<strong>The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.</strong> Paul introduces his Damascus escape (v. 32-33) with solemn oath: <em>ho theos kai patēr tou kyriou Iēsou</em> (ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ, 'the God and Father of the Lord Jesus')—full divine title. <em>Ho ōn eulogētos eis tous aiōnas</em> (ὁ ὢν εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, 'who...
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(31) **The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.**—The solemn attestation was, we may believe, a natural introduction to what was possibly intended, as the words passed from his lips, to be the beginning of a much fuller narrative than that which was its actual outcome.
**Which is blessed for evermore.**—The Greek has no conjunction, but its force is best given either by *which is, and is bless...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14-18. Parenthetical: Of Christians in general. He resumes the subject of the ministry, 2Co 4:1.
**minds--**Greek, "mental perceptions"; "understandings."
**blinded--**rather, "hardened." The opposite to "looking steadfastly at the end" of the law (2Co 3:13). The veil on Moses' face is further typical of the veil that is on their hearts.
**untaken away ... which veil--**rather, "the same vei...
Read full commentary →In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
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<strong>In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me.</strong> Paul recounts his humiliating Damascus escape (cf. Acts 9:23-25) as the climax of his 'boasting in weakness.' <em>En Damaskō ho ethnarchēs Areta tou basileōs</em> (ἐν Δαμασκῷ ὁ ἐθνάρχης Ἀρέτα τοῦ βασιλέως, 'in Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king')—histo...
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(32) **In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king . . .**—The question meets us at the outset whether the fact that follows is brought in as being the first instance of suffering endured for the sake of Christ, and therefore the natural opening to what was intended to have been a long, connected narrative of all such sufferings, or as being connected in some special manner with his “infirmitie...
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14-18. Parenthetical: Of Christians in general. He resumes the subject of the ministry, 2Co 4:1.
**minds--**Greek, "mental perceptions"; "understandings."
**blinded--**rather, "hardened." The opposite to "looking steadfastly at the end" of the law (2Co 3:13). The veil on Moses' face is further typical of the veil that is on their hearts.
**untaken away ... which veil--**rather, "the same vei...
Read full commentary →And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
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<strong>And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.</strong> The final verse of Paul's 'fool's speech' catalog describes his inglorious escape: <em>dia thyidos en sargane</em> (διὰ θυρίδος ἐν σαργάνῃ, 'through a window in a basket'). <em>Sargane</em> (σαργάνη) was a large wicker basket used for cargo or fish—undignified transport for an apostle! <em>Echalast...
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(33) **Through a window in a basket . . .**—On the mode of escape, see Notes on Acts 9:24-25. So the spies escaped from the house of Rahab (Joshua 2:15), and David from the pursuit of Saul (1Samuel 19:12). The word which St. Paul uses for “basket” (*sarganè*) implies, perhaps, a more vivid personal recollection, as meaning specifically a rope-work hamper. St. Luke employs the more general term, *s...
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