2 Corinthians 12:9-11
New English Translation
9 But[a] he said to me, “My grace is enough[b] for you, for my[c] power is made perfect[d] in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly[e] about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in[f] me. 10 Therefore I am content with[g] weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties[h] for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
The Signs of an Apostle
11 I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison[i] to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” because of the contrast implicit in the context.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 tn Or “is sufficient.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 tc The majority of later mss (א2 Ac D1 Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 M) as well as some versional witnesses include the pronoun “my” here, but the omission of the pronoun has excellent external support (P46vid א* A* B D* F G latt). Scribes probably added the pronoun for clarity, making the obvious referent explicit. This would also make “power” more parallel with “my grace.” Though the original text probably did not include “my,” scribes who added the word were following the sense of Paul’s statement.tn The pronoun “my” was supplied in the translation to clarify the sense of Paul’s expression.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 tn Or “my power comes to full strength.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 tn “Most gladly,” a comparative form used with superlative meaning and translated as such.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 tn Or “may rest on.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 tn Or “I take delight in.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 tn Or “calamities.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:11 tn Or “I am in no way inferior.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-11
New International Version
9 But he said to me, “My grace(A) is sufficient for you, for my power(B) is made perfect in weakness.(C)”(D) Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight(E) in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships,(F) in persecutions,(G) in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.(H)
Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians
11 I have made a fool of myself,(I) but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,”[a](J) even though I am nothing.(K)
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 12:11 Or the most eminent apostles
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