| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. | 1I hope you will bear with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that. |
| 2For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. | 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. |
| 3But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. | 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. |
| 4You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. | 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 way too easily. |
| 5But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. | 5I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.” |
| 6I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way. | 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. |
| 7Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? | 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? |
| 8I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. | 8I robbed other churches by accepting their support in order to serve you. |
| 9And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. | 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. |
| 10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this. | 10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. |
| 11Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do. | 11Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! |
| 12But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. | 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. |
| 13These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. | 13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. |
| 14But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. | 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. |
| 15So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. Paul’s Many Trials | 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions. |
| 16Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. | 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. |
| 17Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. | 17In this confident boasting of mine, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool. |
| 18And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too. | 18Since many are boasting according to the flesh, I too will boast. |
| 19After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools! | 19For you gladly tolerate fools, since you are so wise. |
| 20You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. | 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. |
| 21I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too. | 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. |
| 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. | 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. |
| 23Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. | 23Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death. |
| 24Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. | 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. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. | 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. |
| 26I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. | 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, |
| 27I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. | 27in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure. |
| 28Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. | 28Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. |
| 29Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? | 29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief? |
| 30If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. | 30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. |
| 31God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. | 31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is forever worthy of praise, knows that I am not lying. |
| 32When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. | 32In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me. |
| 33I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him. | 33But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his grasp. |
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