2 Corinthians 12

Boasting gains me nothing, but I have to keep going. I will move on to visions and revelations that came from the Lord.

1It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

NoteIn the King James, "glory" as a verb means to boast or brag about oneself, not to give glory to God. Paul uses it that way all through chapters 10 to 12. "It is not expedient" means there is nothing to be gained by it. The phrase "visions and revelations of the Lord" is open in the Greek: it can mean visions given by the Lord, or visions in which the Lord was seen. The wording does not settle it.

2I know a man who belongs to Christ. Fourteen years ago he was carried up to the third heaven. Whether he was in his body or out of it, I do not know. God knows.

2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

Note"I knew a man in Christ" is Paul speaking about himself in the third person. Verse 7 gives it away, since the revelations turn out to be his own. Reporting an honor at arm's length, as though it happened to someone else, was a recognized way of mentioning it without appearing to claim it. "Caught up" translates a verb meaning snatched or seized away by force; the person is taken, not traveling by choice. Jewish writers of the period described heaven in stacked layers, some counting three and some seven. Here the third heaven appears to be the highest, since verse 4 identifies it with paradise.

3And I know that this man, whether in his body or out of it, I do not know, God knows

3And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)

4was carried up into paradise. There he heard words that cannot be put into speech, words no person is allowed to repeat.

4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Note"Paradise" comes through Greek from a Persian word for a walled garden or royal park. The Greek Old Testament used it for the garden of Eden, and by Paul's day it had come to name the place where the righteous dead are kept in God's presence. "Unspeakable words" does not mean shocking words; it means words that cannot be put into human speech. "Not lawful" here means not permitted, not forbidden by any written law.

5I will boast about a man like that. But about myself I will not boast, except about my weaknesses.

5Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

Note"Infirmities" in the King James means weaknesses of any kind, including illness, exhaustion and lack of standing. It does not mean moral faults.

6Even if I did want to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would only be telling the truth. But I hold back, so that no one credits me with more than what he sees in me or hears from me.

6For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.

Note"I forbear" means I hold back, I stop short of doing it.

7And to keep me from getting a swelled head over these extraordinary revelations, I was given a thorn in my body, a messenger of Satan sent to beat me down, so that I would not think too highly of myself.

7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

Note"A thorn in the flesh" translates a word meaning a sharp stake or splinter, something driven in. Paul never says what it was, and readers have guessed since ancient times: a chronic illness, trouble with his eyes, or persistent human opponents. "Buffet" means to punch with the fist, repeatedly. The clause "lest I should be exalted above measure" appears twice in the verse, which is how the Greek reads; the repetition is Paul's, not a printing error.

8Three times I begged the Lord about this, asking him to take it away from me.

8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you, because my power is brought to full strength in weakness." So I would much rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Note"Grace" translates a Greek word meaning favor freely given by someone who owes the recipient nothing. "Made perfect" means brought to its full working or carried through to completion, not made morally flawless. "Rest upon me" renders a verb built on the word for a tent, so the picture is of a covering pitched over someone.

10That is why, for Christ's sake, I am glad to have weaknesses, insults, hard times, times when I am hunted down, and times when I am pressed on every side. For when I am weak, that is when I am strong.

10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Note"Reproaches" means insults, "necessities" means hardships of want, and "distresses" translates a word for narrow places, the sense of being hemmed in with no room to move.

11I have made a fool of myself with this boasting, and you forced me into it, because you should have been the ones speaking well of me. I am in no way behind those "greatest of apostles," even though I am nothing.

11I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

NoteAn apostle is literally one who is sent, a delegate carrying the authority of the person who sent him. "The very chiefest apostles" is sarcastic, and it is disputed whom Paul means: the rival teachers who had come to Corinth claiming superior standing, or the original Jerusalem leaders such as Peter and John, against whom the rivals measured him. The Greek leaves both readings open.

12The marks that prove a person is an apostle were carried out among you with great patience: signs, wonders, and powerful acts.

12Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

NoteSigns, wonders and mighty deeds are three standard words for the same kind of event seen from different angles: a sign points beyond itself, a wonder astonishes those who see it, and a mighty deed is an act of power. "Wrought" means performed or worked. The Greek verb is passive, which leaves the doer unnamed rather than crediting Paul directly.

13In what way did you get less than the other churches, except that I never made myself a financial burden to you? Forgive me for treating you so badly!

13For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.

NotePaul supported himself by his trade at Corinth and refused payment from that congregation, while accepting support from others. His critics read this as proof he was not a genuine apostle, or that he did not care enough about the Corinthians to depend on them. "Forgive me this wrong" is sarcasm.

14Look, I am ready to come to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I am not after what you own; I want you. Children are not supposed to save up for their parents; parents save up for their children.

14Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

NoteThe visit Paul counts as his second is not recorded in Acts; he refers elsewhere in this letter to a painful trip between the two we know of. "Lay up" means to save up property, the ordinary duty of parents building an inheritance for their children. Paul is casting himself as the parent in the relationship.

15And I will very gladly spend everything I have, and be spent myself, for you. If I love you more and more, am I to be loved less?

15And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

Note"Spend and be spent" is accounting language: he will lay out his money and be used up himself in the same transaction. The last clause can be read in Greek either as a question or as a flat statement of fact.

16All right, let that stand: I was not a burden to you. But I was sly, and I trapped you by a trick.

16But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.

NotePaul is repeating the accusation made against him, not confessing. The charge was that since he openly refused a salary, he must be taking money by some indirect route, most likely the relief fund he was collecting for the poor in Jerusalem. Verses 17 and 18 are his answer to it.

17Did I take advantage of you through anyone I sent to you?

17Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?

Note"Make a gain of you" translates a verb meaning to exploit someone for profit, with a suggestion of defrauding them.

18I urged Titus to go, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Didn't the two of us act in the same spirit? Didn't we walk the very same path?

18I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

NoteTitus was a Greek coworker of Paul who had already visited Corinth on his behalf and was handling the collection for the poor in Jerusalem. The unnamed "brother" was a second delegate sent with him, standard practice so that no one could handle donated money alone.

19Have you been thinking all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We speak in the sight of God, as people who belong to Christ. And everything we do, dear friends, is meant to build you up.

19Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.

Note"Excuse ourselves" translates the Greek word for mounting a formal defense, the kind a defendant makes in court; it is the word behind "apology" in its older sense of a reasoned defense. "Edifying" is a building term, meaning to build a structure up.

20For I am afraid that when I come I will not find you the way I want you to be, and you will not find me the way you want me to be. I am afraid there may be arguing, jealousy, anger, selfish rivalry, ugly talk behind people's backs, gossip, pride, and disorder.

20For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:

NoteSeveral of these words have shifted since 1611. "Debates" meant quarrels and wrangling, not reasoned discussion. "Strifes" means rivalry between factions. "Backbitings" is open slander of absent people and "whisperings" is the same damage done quietly. "Swellings" means being puffed up with self-importance. "Tumults" means disorder or unrest, the breakdown of an orderly gathering.

21And I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me in front of you, and that I will grieve over many who sinned in the past and have not turned away from the impurity, sexual sin, and wild living they took part in.

21And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

Note"Bewail" means to mourn openly and audibly; the Greek word is used of grieving over the dead. The three terms at the end are distinct: "uncleanness" is impurity in general, "fornication" renders a broad Greek word covering sexual immorality of any kind, and "lasciviousness" translates a word for unrestrained indulgence carried on without regard for what anyone thinks.