2 Corinthians 10:1-13:10
New Catholic Bible
Paul’s Self-Defense[a]
Chapter 10
Recommendation from Human Beings or from God?[b] 1 I myself, Paul, exhort you by the gentleness and the mercy of Christ, I who am “timid” when I am face to face with you, but “bold” when I am at a distance! 2 I beg you that when I am in your presence I will not have to act with boldness and the self-assurance that I consider necessary when I oppose some of those who accuse us of acting according to human standards.[c]
3 [d]Although we are human beings, we do not engage in battle according to human standards. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they possess the divine power to destroy strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every proud pretension against the knowledge of God, and we compel every thought to surrender in obedience to Christ. 6 What is more, once your obedience is complete, we are prepared to punish every disobedience.
7 [e]Face the facts squarely. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on the fact that we belong to Christ as much as he does. 8 It is possible that I tend to boast a bit too much about our authority, which the Lord has entrusted to us for building you up rather than for tearing you down, but I will not apologize for doing so.
9 Therefore, I do not want to seem to be someone who frightens you with my letters. 10 Some may assert, “His letters are impressive and forceful, but his personal appearance is insignificant, and he cannot speak well.” 11 Let them understand that what we are in our letters when we are absent will be the same as what we are in our deeds when we are present.
12 We do not dare to rank ourselves or to compare ourselves with any of those who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they only demonstrate their ignorance. 13 In contrast, we will not boast beyond the proper limits. Rather, we will measure ourselves according to the standard that God laid down for us, which enabled us to reach out all the way to you.
14 We are not overreaching ourselves as we would be if we had not come to you; indeed, we came to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither are we boasting immoderately of the labors of others. Our hope is rather that, as your faith increases, our influence among you will be greater than ever, 16 so that we may preach the gospel to regions beyond you, rather than boasting about work already done in someone else’s region.
17 If anyone would boast, let him boast in the Lord.[f] 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is really approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Chapter 11
Promised to One Spouse. 1 I hope that you will put up with a little of my foolishness. Please bear with me. 2 For I am jealous of you with a godly jealousy, since I promised all of you to one spouse, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 However, I am afraid that, just as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be led astray from a singlehearted fidelity to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus[g] than the one we proclaimed, 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 that readily enough!
5 I do not regard myself as being inferior to these “super-apostles.” 6 I may be untrained in the art of speaking, but the same is not true of me in regard to knowledge. In every way and in all respects, we have made this evident to you.
Paul’s Apostolate. 7 Did I make a mistake by preaching the gospel of God without charge, humbling myself[h] so that you might be exalted? 8 I robbed other Churches, accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied my needs.
I refrained, and will continue to refrain, from burdening you in any way. 10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do.
12 And I shall continue to do just as I am doing at present in order to thwart the efforts of those who are seeking the opportunity to be regarded as my equals in the aspects they boast about. 13 Such people are false apostles, dishonest workers who masquerade as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! Even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. 15 Therefore, it should not be considered unusual that his servants also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will be appropriate to their deeds.
16 Paul’s Boast. I repeat: let no one take me for a fool. However, if you do, then treat me like a fool and let me boast a little. 17 In saying this, I am not speaking according to the Lord but out of foolishness in the conviction that I have something to boast about. 18 Since many boast of their human accomplishments, I will do likewise.
19 Since you are wise yourselves, you gladly put up with fools! 20 For you endure it if someone makes slaves of you, or robs you of all you possess, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must admit that we have been too weak for that sort of thing!
But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am speaking out of foolishness—I also dare to boast of. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham?[i] So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ?[j] (I am talking now like a madman.) I am too, having endured far greater labors, far more imprisonments, far harsher scourgings, and far more brushes with death.
24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one.[k] 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; once I was adrift in the open sea for a night and a day. 26 I have traveled continually and faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the desert, dangers at sea, and dangers from false brethren.
27 I have endured toil and hardship, and sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty, and I have often gone without food. I have been cold, and often all but naked.
28 Apart from these external things, I am burdened each and every day with the anxiety of caring for all the Churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not similarly afflicted? Who is led into sinfulness, and I am not filled with indignation?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that exhibit my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus knows—he who is blessed forever—that I am telling the truth. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas[l] assigned guards around the city of Damascus in order to arrest me. 33 However, I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and I thereby escaped from his clutches.
Chapter 12
Caught Up into Heaven.[m] 1 Although nothing is to be gained by doing so, I must continue to boast. So I will move on to the visions and revelations given me from the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know that this man (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows) 4 was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no man may repeat.
5 About this man I am willing to boast, but about myself I will not boast, except as it concerns my weaknesses. 6 Actually, if I were to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. However, I refrain from doing so in order that no one may regard me more highly than would be evident from what he has seen in me and heard from me.
A Boast of One’s Weakness.[n] 7 Therefore, to keep me from becoming unduly elated by the wondrous nature of these revelations, I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to beat me and prevent me from becoming unduly elated. 8 Three times I begged the Lord to have it leave me, 9 but he answered me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
Hence, I will boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell within me. 10 For this reason, I rejoice when I endure weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and distress for the sake of Christ. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.
11 Characteristic Traits of an Apostle. I have been very foolish, but it was you who drove me to it. I should have been commended by you, for in no way did I prove to be inferior to those super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The traits of a true apostle were evident in what I did in your presence: perseverance, signs, wonders, and mighty deeds. 13 How then have you been less privileged than the other Churches, except that I myself did not place a burden on you? Forgive me for being so unfair!
14 Now I am getting ready to come to you for a third time, and I do not intend to be a burden to you. What I want is not your money, but you yourselves. Children are not expected to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will be happy to spend and be spent for you. Are you going to love me less because I love you so much more?
16 In any case, let it be assumed that I myself did not prove to be a burden to you. However, you may say that I was crafty and took you in by a trick. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to come to you, and I sent a brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did not he and I walk in the same Spirit, in the same footsteps?
19 There Will Be No More Forgiveness. Have you been supposing all this time that we have been defending ourselves before you? Not at all! We have been speaking in Christ and in the presence of God, my dear ones, doing all things to build you up. 20 I fear that when I come I may find you different from what I wish you to be, and that you may find me different from what you wish me to be.
I am afraid that this will lead to quarreling, jealousy, anger, factions, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come back my God may humiliate me in your presence and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and licentiousness in which they have indulged.
Chapter 13
1 This will be the third visit I am making to you. Every charge must be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 2 I warned those who have sinned, as well as everyone else, and I warn them now in my absence as I did when present on my second visit: when I come again, I will spare no one.
3 This will give you the proof you seek that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but he is powerful among you. 4 For he was crucified in weakness, but he is now alive by the power of God. Similarly, we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live in the power of God.
Examine Yourselves. 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? If he is not, then you have failed the test. 6 It is my hope that you will come to the realization that we have not failed. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong—not so that we may appear to have passed the test, but so that you may do what is right, even though we may appear to have failed.
8 We have no power to do anything against the truth but only for the truth. 9 We rejoice when we are weak, just as long as you are strong. This is what we desire—that you may become perfect.
10 I am writing this letter prior to my arrival so that when I come I may not have to treat you harshly in exercising the authority that the Lord has given me to build up and not to tear down.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 10:1 All at once, the tone of the Letter changes. The text becomes harsh and unyielding. It indicates that some missionaries have slipped into the Corinthian community, probably Jewish Christian in origin, who wish to take over this new Church. Their human and religious pretensions go beyond all measure. They strive to discredit Paul, and many Christians lend a complacent ear to their calumnies and caricatures. Paul rebukes both his attackers and those who failed to defend him, for the Christian life itself is at stake and the authenticity of the Gospel of Jesus is threatened. The Letter is no longer a paternal address to children but a strong indictment.
Some exegetes think that these chapters were part of a stern Letter mentioned earlier (2 Cor 2:3); if so, the text predates the rest of the present Letter. - 2 Corinthians 10:1 In order to be accepted and applauded, the false apostles seek their human prestige. They have nothing more than that, for they usurp the work of others. In contrast, Paul and his coworkers are missionaries of the Gospel in the midst of Gentiles and it was they who founded the community of Corinth—that is their recommendation. The work of God has become a reality through their efforts.
- 2 Corinthians 10:2 Human standards: literally, “according to the flesh.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:3 Paul is ready to wage war, but his weapons are not those prized by this world and forged by human pride and arrogance. They have “the divine power” (e.g., the Word of God and the Spirit) and can demolish arguments and every pretension put forth against “the knowledge of God” (see Rom 1:18-23). Among the latter are the reasonings by which the false apostles strive to shake the faith of the Corinthian Christians (see 1 Cor 2:13f).
- 2 Corinthians 10:7 Paul makes use of Jeremiah’s description of the purpose of the prophetic power given him by God (see Jer 1:9-10; 12:16f; 24:6). The Apostle’s intention is to build up, not to tear down.
- 2 Corinthians 10:17 Let him boast in the Lord: boasting is not wrong when it is done “in the Lord.” Paul boasts of God’s work accomplished through him in the community (2 Cor 10:13-16; see 2 Cor 1:12-14). This is his recommendation (2 Cor 3:1-3). See note on 1 Cor 1:29-31.
- 2 Corinthians 11:4 Another Jesus: the false apostles present Jesus cast in the mold of Judaistic teachings (see 2 Cor 11:22). Different spirit: e.g., a spirit of bondage, fear, and worldliness (see Rom 8:15; 1 Cor 2:12; Gal 2:4; 4:24; Col 2:20-23) instead of a Spirit of freedom, love, joy, praise, and power (see 2 Cor 3:17; Rom 14:17; Gal 2:4; 5:1, 22; Eph 3:20; Col 1:11; 2 Tim 1:7). Different gospel: i.e., a gospel that is really no gospel at all (see Gal 1:6-9).
- 2 Corinthians 11:7 Humbling myself: apparently Paul’s opponents took issue with the fact that he failed to accept payment for his services. This went counter to the practice of first-century traveling philosophers and religious teachers, who exacted payment in proportion to the worth of their performance.
- 2 Corinthians 11:22 Hebrews . . . Israelites . . . descendants of Abraham: apparently, the false apostles are Jewish Christians who feel superior to Gentile Christians. They want to impose distinctly Jewish practices on Gentile converts. Paul is completely opposed to such a thing (see Rom 2:28f; 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:28f; Eph 2:11-18; Col 3:11) and emphasizes that he is everything they are—a Hebrew, an Israelite, and a descendant of Abraham.
- 2 Corinthians 11:23 Ministers of Christ: Paul states that though the false apostles can claim the title, he can claim it with far greater force because of his unremitting labor and ceaseless endurance of trials. Far more brushes with death: a biographical fragment about a dramatic series of sufferings of which Acts says nothing, perhaps because they had been endured in the first decade of Paul’s apostolate.
- 2 Corinthians 11:24 Forty lashes minus one: see Deut 25:3; thirty-nine, in order not to risk going beyond the forty allowed by the Law.
- 2 Corinthians 11:32 King Aretas: Aretas IV, father-in-law of Herod Antipas, who ruled over the Nabatean Arabs from c. 9 B.C. to A.D. 40.
- 2 Corinthians 12:1 Paul here provides an exceptional testimony. His spirit was elevated to the highest contemplation of the divine mysteries, which no human words can describe. He was caught up to the third heaven, that is, beyond the created world, to the point of losing all awareness of his own bodily life, so greatly was his spirit overwhelmed by this experience. This event occurred around the year A.D. 42, five years after his conversion; at that time, Paul was in Syria or Cilicia, some years still before the beginning of his great missions.
- 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul refers to a mysterious trial, possibly an illness, of which Christ did not will to cure him and which increased the difficulties of his apostolic life.
