English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!

1I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me.

2For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

2For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.

3But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

3But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.

4For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

4You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

5Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.

5But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.

6Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

6I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

7Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge?

7Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return?

8I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.

8I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.

9And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.

9And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be.

10As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this.

11And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

11Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.

12And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.

12But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours.

13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

13These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.

14And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

14But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

15So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

15So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. Paul’s Many Trials

16I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

16Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little.

17What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool.

17Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool.

18Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.

18And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.

19For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!

19After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools!

20For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.

20You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.

21To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.

21I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too.

22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.

22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

23Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.

23Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.

24Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

24Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.

25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.

26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;

26I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.

27in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

27I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

28And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

28Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

29Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

30If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

31God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.

32At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,

32When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.

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

33I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.