| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. | 1I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! |
| 2For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. | 2I 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. |
| 3But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. | 3But 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. |
| 4For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! | 4For 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. |
| 5For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles. | 5I do not think I am in the least inferior to those "super-apostles." |
| 6Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things. | 6I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. |
| 7Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? | 7Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? |
| 8I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. | 8I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. |
| 9And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself. | 9And 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. |
| 10As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia. | 10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. |
| 11Why? Because I do not love you? God knows! | 11Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! |
| 12But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. | 12And 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. |
| 13For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. | 13For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. |
| 14And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. | 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. |
| 15Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. | 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. |
| 16I say again, let no one think me a fool. If otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, that I also may boast a little. | 16I 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. |
| 17What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. | 17In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. |
| 18Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast. | 18Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. |
| 19For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! | 19You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! |
| 20For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face. | 20In 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. |
| 21To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also. | 21To 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. |
| 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. | 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. |
| 23Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. | 23Are 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. |
| 24From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. | 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. |
| 25Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; | 25Three 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, |
| 26in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; | 26I 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. |
| 27in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— | 27I 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. |
| 28besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. | 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. |
| 29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? | 29Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? |
| 30If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. | 30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. |
| 31The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. | 31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. |
| 32In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; | 32In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. |
| 33but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. | 33But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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