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you will put up with a little foolishness from me. Do bear with me. 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband, to Christ, that I may present you as a chaste and pure virgin to Him. 3 But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if a person comes to you and preaches another Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily. 5 But I consider myself to be in no way inferior to those ‘super-apostles’. 6 Though I am not trained in public speaking, yet I am not in knowledge. We have certainly always made this clear to you in every way.
7 Did I commit a sin by humbling myself to elevate you, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting pay from them in order to minister to you. 9 And when I was present with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. So I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody will stop me from this boasting of mine in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 And I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to cut off the opportunity of those who are seeking the opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they are boasting about.
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is not surprising that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their final destiny will match their deeds.
16 I say again: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then at least receive me as a fool, so that I also may boast a little. 17 What I say in this matter of boasting, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Seeing that many are boasting according to human standards, I also will boast. 19 For you gladly put up with fools, since you yourselves are so wise! 20 In fact, you put up with it if someone makes a slave of you, if someone devours you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone dominates you, or if someone slaps you across the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we have been weak.
Whatever anybody else dares to boast about—I am speaking foolishly—I will also dare to boast: 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far more labours, many more imprisonments, numerous floggings, near death many times. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one, 25 three times I was beaten with rods, once I received a stoning, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day adrift at sea. 26 Being constantly on the move, I have faced danger from rivers, danger from robbers, dangers from my own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the open country, dangers on the sea, and dangers among false brothers. 27 I have endured toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold and naked. 28 Not to mention everything else, I am under daily pressure because of my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me, 33 but I was lowered down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.