2 Corinthians 11

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Paul and the False Apostles

¹Ὄφελον ἀνείχεσθέ μου μικρόν τι ἀφροσύνης ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνέχεσθέ μου

¹I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that.

²ζηλῶ γὰρ ὑμᾶς Θεοῦ ζήλῳ ἡρμοσάμην γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ παρθένον ἁγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ

²I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

³Φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν Εὕαν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστόν

³I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

⁴εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἄλλον Ἰησοῦν κηρύσσει ὃν οὐκ ἐκηρύξαμεν ἢ πνεῦμα ἕτερον λαμβάνετε ὃ οὐκ ἐλάβετε ἢ εὐαγγέλιον ἕτερον ὃ οὐκ ἐδέξασθε καλῶς ἀνέχεσθε

⁴For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than 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 very easily.

⁵Λογίζομαι γὰρ μηδὲν ὑστερηκέναι τῶν Ὑπερλίαν ἀποστόλων

⁵I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.”

⁶εἰ δὲ καὶ ἰδιώτης τῷ λόγῳ ἀλλ’ οὐ τῇ γνώσει ἀλλ’ ἐν παντὶ φανερώσαντες ἐν πᾶσιν εἰς ὑμᾶς

⁶Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.

⁷Ἢ ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησα ἐμαυτὸν ταπεινῶν ἵνα ὑμεῖς ὑψωθῆτε ὅτι δωρεὰν τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐαγγέλιον εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν

⁷Was it a sin for me to humble myself in order to exalt you, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

⁸ἄλλας ἐκκλησίας ἐσύλησα λαβὼν ὀψώνιον πρὸς τὴν ὑμῶν διακονίαν

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

⁹καὶ παρὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ ὑστερηθεὶς οὐ κατενάρκησα οὐθενός τὸ γὰρ ὑστέρημά μου προσανεπλήρωσαν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ἐλθόντες ἀπὸ Μακεδονίας καὶ ἐν παντὶ ἀβαρῆ ἐμαυτὸν ὑμῖν ἐτήρησα καὶ τηρήσω

⁹And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.

¹⁰ἔστιν ἀλήθεια Χριστοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ ὅτι ἡ καύχησις αὕτη οὐ φραγήσεται εἰς ἐμὲ ἐν τοῖς κλίμασιν τῆς Ἀχαΐας

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

¹¹διὰ τί ὅτι οὐκ ἀγαπῶ ὑμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς οἶδεν

¹¹Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

¹²Ὃ δὲ ποιῶ καὶ ποιήσω ἵνα ἐκκόψω τὴν ἀφορμὴν τῶν θελόντων ἀφορμήν ἵνα ἐν ᾧ καυχῶνται εὑρεθῶσιν καθὼς καὶ ἡμεῖς

¹²But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast.

¹³οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι ψευδαπόστολοι ἐργάται δόλιοι μετασχηματιζόμενοι εἰς ἀποστόλους Χριστοῦ

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴καὶ οὐ θαῦμα αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Σατανᾶς μετασχηματίζεται εἰς ἄγγελον φωτός

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

¹⁵οὐ μέγα οὖν εἰ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ μετασχηματίζονται ὡς διάκονοι δικαιοσύνης ὧν τὸ τέλος ἔσται κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν

¹⁵It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.

Paul’s Suffering and Service

¹⁶Πάλιν λέγω μή τίς με δόξῃ ἄφρονα εἶναι εἰ δὲ μή¦γε κἂν ὡς ἄφρονα δέξασθέ με ἵνα κἀγὼ μικρόν τι καυχήσωμαι

¹⁶I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

¹⁷ὃ λαλῶ οὐ κατὰ Κύριον λαλῶ ἀλλ’ ὡς ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὑποστάσει τῆς καυχήσεως

¹⁷In this confident boasting of mine, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool.

¹⁸ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ καυχῶνται κατὰ τὴν σάρκα κἀγὼ καυχήσομαι

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

¹⁹ἡδέως γὰρ ἀνέχεσθε τῶν ἀφρόνων φρόνιμοι ὄντες

¹⁹For you gladly put up with fools, since you are so wise.

²⁰ἀνέχεσθε γὰρ εἴ τις ὑμᾶς καταδουλοῖ εἴ τις κατεσθίει εἴ τις λαμβάνει εἴ τις ἐπαίρεται εἴ τις εἰς πρόσωπον ὑμᾶς δέρει

²⁰In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.

²¹κατὰ ἀτιμίαν λέγω ὡς ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠσθενήκαμεν Ἐν ᾧ δ’ ἄν τις τολμᾷ ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ λέγω τολμῶ κἀγώ

²¹To my shame I concede that we were too weak for that!

Speaking as a fool, however, I can match what anyone else dares to boast about.

²²Ἑβραῖοί εἰσιν κἀγώ Ἰσραηλῖταί εἰσιν κἀγώ σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ εἰσιν κἀγώ

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

²³διάκονοι Χριστοῦ εἰσιν παραφρονῶν λαλῶ ὑπὲρ ἐγώ ἐν κόποις περισσοτέρως ἐν φυλακαῖς περισσοτέρως ἐν πληγαῖς ὑπερβαλλόντως ἐν θανάτοις πολλάκις

²³Are they servants of Christ? (I am speaking as if I were out of my mind.) I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.

²⁴Ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πεντάκις τεσσεράκοντα παρὰ μίαν ἔλαβον

²⁴Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

²⁵τρὶς ἐραβδίσθην ἅπαξ ἐλιθάσθην τρὶς ἐναυάγησα νυχθήμερον ἐν τῷ βυθῷ πεποίηκα

²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

²⁶ὁδοιπορίαις πολλάκις κινδύνοις ποταμῶν κινδύνοις λῃστῶν κινδύνοις ἐκ γένους κινδύνοις ἐξ ἐθνῶν κινδύνοις ἐν πόλει κινδύνοις ἐν ἐρημίᾳ κινδύνοις ἐν θαλάσσῃ κινδύνοις ἐν ψευδαδέλφοις

²⁶In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers,

²⁷κόπῳ καὶ μόχθῳ ἐν ἀγρυπνίαις πολλάκις ἐν λιμῷ καὶ δίψει ἐν νηστείαις πολλάκις ἐν ψύχει καὶ γυμνότητι

²⁷in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

²⁸Χωρὶς τῶν παρεκτὸς ἡ ἐπίστασίς μοι ἡ καθ’ ἡμέραν ἡ μέριμνα πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν

²⁸Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

²⁹τίς ἀσθενεῖ καὶ οὐκ ἀσθενῶ τίς σκανδαλίζεται καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ πυροῦμαι

²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?

³⁰Εἰ καυχᾶσθαι δεῖ τὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας μου καυχήσομαι

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

³¹ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ οἶδεν ὁ ὢν εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας ὅτι οὐ ψεύδομαι

³¹The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is forever worthy of praise,^a knows that I am not lying.

³²ἐν Δαμασκῷ ὁ ἐθνάρχης Ἁρέτα τοῦ βασιλέως ἐφρούρει τὴν πόλιν Δαμασκηνῶν πιάσαι με

³²In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me.

³³καὶ διὰ θυρίδος ἐν σαργάνῃ ἐχαλάσθην διὰ τοῦ τείχους καὶ ἐξέφυγον τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ

³³But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his grasp.