Text -- 2 Corinthians 11:1-17 (NET)

Paul and His Opponents

11:1 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 11:3 But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough! 11:5 For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.” 11:6 And even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way. 11:7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you could be exalted, because I proclaimed the gospel of God to you free of charge? 11:8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so that I could serve you! 11:9 When 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. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 11:10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. 11:11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 11:12 And 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 in the things they boast about. 11:13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 11:15 Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.

Paul’s Sufferings for Christ

11:16 I say again, let no one think that I am a fool. But if you do, then at least accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 11:17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence I do not say the way the Lord would. Instead it is, as it were, foolishness.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Co 11:2

¹ tn That is, to Christ.

² tn Or “chaste.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:3

¹ tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”

² tn Or “the snake.”

³ tn Or “craftiness.”

⁴ tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”

⁵ tc Although most mss (א² H Ψ 0121 0243 1739 1881 Ï) lack “and pure” (καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, kai th" Jagnothto"; Grk “and purity”) several important and early witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B D^[2] F G 33 81 104 pc 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 (Japlothto", “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.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:4

¹ tn Or “preaches.”

² tn Grk “another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed.”

³ tn Grk “a different spirit which you did not receive.”

⁴ tn Grk “a different gospel which you did not accept.”

⁵ tn Or “you endure it very well.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:5

¹ 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.

NET Notes: 2Co 11:6

¹ sn Unskilled in speaking means not professionally trained as a rhetorician.

NET Notes: 2Co 11:7

¹ sn Paul is referring to humbling himself to the point of doing manual labor to support himself.

² tn Or “preached.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:8

¹ sn That is, serve them free of charge (cf. the end of v. 7).

NET Notes: 2Co 11:9

¹ tn Grk “you, and when.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.

² tn If the participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") 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).

³ tn Grk “needs, and I kept.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.

NET Notes: 2Co 11:10

¹ tn That is, that Paul offers the gospel free of charge to the Corinthians (see 2 Cor 11:7).

² tn Or “silenced.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:11

¹ tn Grk “God knows!” The words “I do” are supplied for clarity. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

NET Notes: 2Co 11:12

¹ tn Grk “an opportunity, so that they may be found just like us.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:13

¹ tn Or “dishonest.”

² tn Or “workers, masquerading.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:14

¹ tn Or “Satan himself masquerades.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:15

¹ tn Or “also masquerade.”

² tn Or “their works.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:16

¹ tn Or “am foolish.”

NET Notes: 2Co 11:17

¹ tn Grk “with this confidence of boasting.” The genitive καυχήσεως (kauchsew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (the noun in the genitive gives an attribute of the noun modified).

² tn Or “say with the Lord’s authority.”