1Cor 4:10-13, 2Cor 11:11-33 | ESV | STEP | We are fools for Christ’s sake , but you are wise in Christ . We are weak , but you are strong . You are held in honor , but we in disrepute .

1 Corinthians 4:10-13

10 ^aWe are fools for Christ’s sake, but ^byou are wise in Christ. ^cWe are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour ^dwe hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^ebuffeted and ^fhomeless, 12 and we ^glabor, working with our own hands. ^hWhen reviled, we bless; ⁱwhen persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. ^jWe have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ^kthe refuse of all things.

2 Corinthians 11:11-33

11 And why? ^lBecause I do not love you? ^mGod knows I do!

12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, ⁿin order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are ^ofalse apostles, ^pdeceitful workmen, ^qdisguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as ^ran angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as ^sservants of righteousness. ^tTheir end will correspond to their deeds.

Paul’s Sufferings as an Apostle

16 I repeat, ^ulet no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying ^vwith this boastful confidence, ^wI say not as the Lord would ^{▼▼Greek not according to the Lord} but as a fool. 18 Since ^ymany boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with fools, ^zbeing wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone ^aamakes slaves of you, or ^abdevours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or ^acstrikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, ^adwe were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? ^aeSo am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ^afservants of Christ? ^agI am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, ^ahfar more imprisonments, ^aiwith countless beatings, and ^ajoften near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the ^akforty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was ^albeaten with rods. ^amOnce I was stoned. Three times I ^anwas shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, ^aodanger from my own people, ^apdanger from Gentiles, ^aqdanger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 ^arin toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, ^asin hunger and thirst, often without food, ^{▼▼Or often in fasting} in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for ^auall the churches. 29 ^avWho is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 ^awIf I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 ^axThe God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^ayhe who is blessed forever, ^azknows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas ^bawas guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 ^bbbut I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.