2 Corinthians 11:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

NIV: Three 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,

NASB: Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea.

CSB: Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea.

NLT: Three 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.

KJV: 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;

NKJV: Three 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;

Responding to deceivers trying to corrupt the believers in Corinth, Paul is sarcastically "boasting" about how his service to Christ is superior to that of the false apostles. Even in jest, Paul's crowing takes the form of describing how deeply he has suffered for Christ. He's not listing the victorious triumphs his readers were likely expecting to hear about.

He now adds several more examples: He was beaten with rods three times. This was a Roman punishment administered in public. As a Roman citizen, Paul sometimes avoided being beaten in this way. Citizens were supposed to be given a trial first. Here, though, Paul shows that he did not always escape it.

Paul was also stoned for preaching the gospel of Jesus. Acts 14:19–20 records that he was stoned by a crowd in Lystra that was riled up by Jewish religious leaders from Antioch and Iconium. They dragged Paul's unconscious body from the city and left him for dead. He soon got up and went back into the city.

Next, Paul writes that he was shipwrecked three times, once spending a night and a day drifting on the open sea before, apparently, being found and rescued. Paul is often described as journeying by sea in his missionary travels, though these three shipwrecks all took place before the one dramatically described in Acts 27.

The shipwrecks were not the result of persecution, of course, but Paul did suffer through them as part of his work for the cause of Christ. Traveling by sea was dangerous, but necessary in order to reach all the territories to which he was called by Christ.

Second Corinthians 11:16–33 includes Paul's long list of ways he has suffered in his service to Christ. He describes this as crazy talk, mocking the arrogant style of the false apostles. In truth, the Corinthians probably would have thought of these as signs of failure, weakness, and loss. Paul is shocked that they are so willing to be mistreated by the false apostles. This abuse was something Paul was ''too weak'' to do in his Christlike service for them. Paul's discussion of his weakness will lead to his conclusion in the following chapter that Christ is strongest in him when he is weak.

Second Corinthians 11 compares the believers in Corinth to a betrothed bride. It also pictures them as Eve facing temptation from the snake in the garden in Genesis 3. Paul's job as their spiritual father is to protect them from the lies of false apostles. These deceivers disguise themselves as servants of righteousness in the same way that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Paul is shocked the Corinthians put up with such harsh treatment from these men. He sarcastically pretends to brag about himself as the false teachers do about themselves. Instead, he boasts mostly about the ways he has endured suffering in his service to Christ.

Chapter 11 follows Paul's warning in the previous chapter. There, he vowed to be as bold as needed when he comes to see them in person. He describes himself as a protective spiritual father trying to save the Corinthians from the deceptions of the false apostles to teach a false gospel about a false Jesus. He is shocked the Corinthians put up with their harsh treatment and says he has decided to foolishly boast in order to compete with the false apostles. His boasting about his service to Christ, though, is mostly a long list of all the ways he has suffered for Christ. That theme continues into chapter 12, where Paul explains just how much his suffering has improved his walk with Christ.

Second Corinthians returns to similar themes as those Paul mentioned in his first letter to this church. Paul is glad to hear that the church in Corinth has heeded his advice. At the same time, it is necessary for Paul to counter criticisms about his personality and legitimacy. Most of this text involves that subject. The fifth chapter, in contrast, contains comforting words which Christians have quoted often in times of hardship. Paul also details his expectations that the church in Corinth will make good on their promise to contribute to the needs of suffering believers in Jerusalem.