Passage

2 Corinthians 11.23-29

Book: 2 Corinthians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"21. I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet whereinsoever any is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. 22. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I."

"23. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft. 24. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; 26. in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27. in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28. Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches. 29. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is caused to stumble, and I burn not?"

"30. If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my weakness. 31. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed for evermore knoweth that I lie not." (2 Corinthians 11:21-31, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"21. I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet in whatever way anyone is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. 22. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the offspring of Abraham? So am I."

"23. Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I am more so; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often. 24. Five times from the Jews I received forty stripes minus one. 25. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep. 26. I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers; 27. in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness. 28. Besides those things that are outside, there is that which presses on me daily, anxiety for all the assemblies. 29. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to stumble, and I don’t burn with indignation?"

"30. If I must boast, I will boast of the things that concern my weakness. 31. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, he who is blessed forever more, knows that I don’t lie." (2 Corinthians 11:21-31, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"21. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. 22. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I."

"23. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26. In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?"

"30. If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not." (2 Corinthians 11:21-31, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"21. in reference to dishonour I speak, how that we were weak, and in whatever any one is bold, in foolishness I say [it], I also am bold. 22. Hebrews are they? I also! Israelites are they? I also! seed of Abraham are they? I also!"

"23. ministrants of Christ are they?, as beside myself I speak, I more; in labours more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths many times; 24. from Jews five times forty [stripes] save one I did receive; 25. thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice was I shipwrecked, a night and a day in the deep I have passed; 26. journeyings many times, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from kindred, perils from nations, perils in city, perils in wilderness, perils in sea, perils among false brethren; 27. in labouriousness and painfulness, in watchings many times, in hunger and thirst, in fastings many times, in cold and nakedness; 28. apart from the things without, the crowding upon me that is daily, the care of all the assemblies. 29. Who is infirm, and I am not infirm? who is stumbled, and I am not fired;"

"30. if to boast it behoveth [me], of the things of my infirmity I will boast; 31. the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed to the ages, hath known that I do not lie! --" (2 Corinthians 11:21-31, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Apostle

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.