Parallel Bible results for "2 Corinthians 11"

2 Corinthians 11

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 I want you to put up with a little foolishness from me. I'm sure that you will.

2 I'm as protective of you as God is. After all, you're a virgin whom I promised in marriage to one man--Christ.

3 However, I'm afraid that as the snake deceived Eve by its tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

4 When someone comes to you telling about another Jesus whom we didn't tell you about, you're willing to put up with it. When you receive a spirit that is different from the Spirit you received earlier, you're also willing to put up with that. When someone tells you good news that is different from the Good News you already accepted, you're willing to put up with that too.

5 I don't think I'm inferior in any way to your super-apostles.

6 Even though I'm not good with words, I know what I'm talking about. Timothy and I have made this clear to you in every possible way.

7 Did I commit a sin when I humbled myself by telling you the Good News of God free of charge so that you could become important?

8 I robbed other churches by taking pay from them to serve you.

9 When I was with you and needed something, I didn't bother any of you for help. My friends from the province of Macedonia supplied everything I needed. I kept myself from being a financial burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do that.

10 As surely as I have Christ's truth, my bragging will not be silenced anywhere in Greece.

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

12 But I'll go on doing what I'm doing. This will take away the opportunity of those people who want to brag because they think they're like us.

13 People who brag like this are false apostles. They are dishonest workers, since they disguise themselves as Christ's apostles.

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

15 So it's not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants who have God's approval. In the end they will get what they deserve.

16 Again I say that no one should think that I'm a fool. But if you do, then take me for a fool so that I can also brag a little.

17 What I say as I start bragging is foolishness. It's not something I would say if I were speaking for the Lord.

18 Since it's common for people to brag, I'll do it too.

19 You're wise, so you'll gladly put up with fools.

20 When someone makes you slaves, consumes your wealth, seizes your property, orders you around, or slaps your faces, you put up with it.

21 I'm ashamed to admit it, but Timothy and I don't have the strength to do those things to you. Whatever other people dare to brag about, I, like a fool, can also brag about.

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

23 Are they Christ's servants? It's insane to say it, but I'm a far better one. I've done much more work, been in prison many more times, been beaten more severely, and have faced death more often.

24 Five times the Jewish leaders had me beaten with 39 lashes;

25 three times Roman officials had me beaten with clubs. Once people tried to stone me to death; three times I was shipwrecked, and I drifted on the sea for a night and a day.

26 Because I've traveled a lot, I've faced dangers from raging rivers, from robbers, from my own people, and from other people. I've faced dangers in the city, in the open country, on the sea, and from believers who turned out to be false friends.

27 Because I've had to work so hard, I've often gone without sleep, been hungry and thirsty, and gone without food and without proper clothes during cold weather.

28 Besides these external matters, I have the daily pressure of my anxiety about all the churches.

29 When anyone is weak, I'm weak too. When anyone is caught in a trap, I'm also harmed.

30 If I must brag, I will brag about the things that show how weak I am.

31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is praised forever, knows that I'm not lying.

32 The governor under King Aretas put guards around the city of Damascus to catch me.

33 So I was let down in a basket through an opening in the wall and escaped from him.

New International Version NIV

1 I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me!

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

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

4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

5 I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.”

6 I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.

7 Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge?

8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you.

9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine.

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

12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.

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

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

15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting.

17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool.

18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.

19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!

20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face.

21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.

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

23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.

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

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

26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.

27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

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

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

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

33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.