2 CORINTHIANS 11 [†]I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2[†]For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since  n I betrothed you to one husband,  o to present you  p as a pure virgin to Christ. 3[†]But I am afraid that  q as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts  r will be led astray from a  s sincere and  t pure devotion to Christ. 4[†]For if someone comes and  u proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept  v a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5[†]Indeed, I consider that  w I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 x Even if I am unskilled in speaking,  y I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way  z we have made this plain to you in all things.

7[†]Or  a did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because  b I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? 8[†]I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9[†]And when I was with you and was  c in need,  d I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia  e supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain  f from burdening you in any way. 10 g As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine  h will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11And why?  i Because I do not love you?  j God knows I do!

12And what I am doing I will continue to do,  k 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. 13[†]For such men are  l false apostles,  m deceitful workmen,  n disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as  o an angel of light. 15[†]So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as  p servants of righteousness.  q Their end will correspond to their deeds.

16[†]I repeat,  r let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17What I am saying  s with this boastful confidence,  t I say not as the Lord would [1] but as a fool. 18Since  u many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19For you gladly bear with fools,  v being wise yourselves! 20[†]For you bear it if someone  w makes slaves of you, or  x devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or  y strikes you in the face. 21To my shame, I must say,  z 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. 22Are they Hebrews?  a So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23Are they  b servants of Christ?  c I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors,  d far more imprisonments,  e with countless beatings, and  f often near death. 24[†]Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the  g forty lashes less one. 25[†]Three times I was  h beaten with rods.  i Once I was stoned. Three times I  j was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers,  k danger from my own people,  l danger from Gentiles,  m danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 n in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night,  o in hunger and thirst, often without food, [2] in cold and exposure. 28[†]And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for  p all the churches. 29 q Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30[†] r If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 s The God and Father of the Lord Jesus,  t he who is blessed forever,  u knows that I am not lying. 32[†]At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas  v was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 w but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.