WOULD TO GOD YE COULD BEAR— _Would you could bear._ St. Paul modestly calls his speaking in his own defence _folly._ From this verse to the 6th he shews, that the pretended Apostle, bringing to them no other Saviour or gospel, was not to be preferred before him. See ch. 2 Corinthians 5:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT I MAY PRESENT YOU AS A CHASTE VIRGIN— This is greatly illustrated by recollecting, that there was an officer among the Greeks, whose business it was to educate and form young women, especially those of rank and figure, designed for marriage; and then to present them to those who were to be thei... [ Continue Reading ]
LEST BY ANY MEANS, &C.— Or, _Lest by some means or other,_ &c. As the success of the serpent against Eve lay in false pretences and insinuations, so the success of the false apostles was owing to deceitful pretensions and insinuations likewise. The _simplicity that is in,_ or rather _towards Christ,... [ Continue Reading ]
YE MIGHT WELL BEAR, &C.— _You would kindly,_ &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
RUDE IN SPEECH,— The word ιδιωτης, rendered _rude,_ frequently signifies _a private man;_ one who can speak no better than the generality of his neighbours, being unformed by the rules of eloquence. But whether this sense be applicable to St. Paul, let those judge, who are able to compare his stile... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE I COMMITTED AN OFFENCE— The adverse party made it an argument against St. Paul that he was no apostle, since he took nothing among the Corinthians for his maintenance, 1 Corinthians 9:1. Another objection raised against him on this account was, that he _loved them not,_ 2 Corinthians 11:11. Thi... [ Continue Reading ]
I ROBBED OTHER CHURCHES,— _"I_ may almost, in this sense, be said to have _robbed other churches;_ so freely have I received from them, at least _taking wages_ as it were _of them, for waiting upon you;_ for indeed I received a kind of stipend from them while I abode at Corinth." The word εσυλησα, r... [ Continue Reading ]
I WAS CHARGEABLE TO NO MAN:— Beza would render it, _I was not idle at another man's expence._ The word ναρκη, (whence the original κατεναρκησα,) implies a _benumbed inactive state,_ to which no man seems to have been less obnoxious than St. Paul.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT I WILL DO,— Rather, _and will do;_ so the words stand in the Greek, and do not refer to 2 Corinthians 11:10 as a profession of St. Paul's resolution to take nothing from them; but to 2 Corinthians 11:11 to which they are joined, shewing that his refusing any reward from them was not out of unki... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR SUCH ARE FALSE APOSTLES,— They had questioned St. Paul's apostleship, 1 Corinthians 9 because of his not taking a maintenance from the Corinthians. He here directly, and without reserve, declares _them_ to be no true apostles.... [ Continue Reading ]
I SAY AGAIN LET NO MAN THINK, &C.— St Paul goes on in his justification, reflecting upon the carriage of the false apostle towards the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 11:16. He compares himself with the false apostle in what he boasts of, as being_a Hebrew,_ 2 Corinthians 11:21 or, _minister of Christ,_... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT WHICH I SPEAK, &C.— "I do not speak according to any express command, which Christ delivered in his personal ministry (see 1 Corinthians 7:10.): no; I own that he condemned seeking honour one of another, John 5:44 which is certainly very criminal, when self-applause is aimed at: but the huge bo... [ Continue Reading ]
IF A MAN BRING YOU INTO BONDAGE, &C.— This is spoken ironically, to express their bearing with the insolence and covetousness of their false apostle. The _bondage_ here meant was subjection to the will of the false apostle, as appears from the following particulars of this verse,—and not subjection... [ Continue Reading ]
I SPEAK AS CONCERNING REPROACH,— _Do I speak this by way of dishonour, as if we ourselves were weak? Surely, in whatsoever any one else may be confident,_ (_I speak it in folly_) _I also am confident._ Doddridge. Heylin renders the verse thus: _I speak of disgraces which touch me, as if I had suffer... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE THEY HEBREWS?— Mr. Locke observes, that though the Apostle makes use of the plural number _they,_ it is his opinion that he means but one person; as after, when he says _we,_ he means only himself, using the plural number out of delicacy. _"Are they Hebrews_ by language? says the Apostle, capabl... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM MORE:— Or, _I am more so. In stripes above measure,_ should rather be read, _in stripes far exceeding;_ for these words, as the other particulars of this verse, should be taken comparatively, with reference to the false apostle; with whom St. Paul is comparing himself in the ministry of the Gos... [ Continue Reading ]
THRICE WAS I BEATEN WITH RODS, &C.— See Matthew 27:26. Mark 15:15.John 19:1. The _wreck_ at Malta happened long after this time; so that it must have been the _fourth_ shipwreck that St. Paul suffered. Had the inhabitants of that island been informed of this circumstance, they would have been confir... [ Continue Reading ]
IN PERILS OF WATERS,— Or, _of rivers:_ the word should certainly be so rendered, to contradistinguish these hazards, from those which he underwent by _sea._ In the _city,_ means not only in Jerusalem, but in other cities, in opposition to _perils in the wilderness._ The Apostle possibly mentions _fa... [ Continue Reading ]
IN WEARINESS AND PAINFULNESS,— The latter of the words here used, Μοχθος, is more expressive than the former, Κοπος: it signifies not only strenuous labour, but such as proceeds to a degree of great fatigue. What an idea does this verse give us of the Apostle's fidelity and zeal!How hard was it for... [ Continue Reading ]
BESIDE THOSE THINGS THAT ARE WITHOUT,— _Beside foreign affairs, the care of all the churches is rushing in upon me every day._ Doddridge. Others would read, _besides what is exclusive of these things, the care of all the churches, is,_ &c. for what he had before mentioned were no other than external... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO IS OFFENDED,— "So as to be led into sin by the rashness or uncharitableness of others; _and I am not fired_ — with grief and indignation, to see such dishonour brought upon religion, and with zeal to repress the grievance, if possible?" The word Πυρουμαι properly signifies _to be fired;_ and it... [ Continue Reading ]
IF I MUST NEEDS GLORY,— See ch. 2 Corinthians 12:11. By the word u954?αυχασθαι, which is translated sometimes _to glory,_ and sometimes to boast, the Apostle throughout, when he applies it to himself, means nothing but the mentioning some commendable action of his, without vanity or ostentation, and... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GOD AND FATHER, &C.— _God, even the Father,_ &c. There should only be a colon at the end of the verse; this solemn asseveration being introduced to give credit, not to what precedes, but to what follows; which was then known only to few, and is therefore attested in like manner, Galatians 1:20 t... [ Continue Reading ]