2 Corinthians 11:1
I hope you will bear with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that.
BSB
ASV
Would that ye could bear with me in a little foolishness: but indeed ye do bear with me.
KJV
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
Would to God - Greek, “I would” (Ὄφελον Ophelon). This expresses earnest desire, but in the Greek there is no appeal to God. The sense would be well expressed by “O that,” or “I earnestly wish.” Ye could bear with me - That you would bear patiently with me; that you would hear me patiently, and suffer me to speak of myself. In my folly - Folly in boasting. The idea seems to be, “I know that boasting is generally foolish, and that it is not to be indulged in.
Not as if he were a fool in glorying; for he was constrained to it by necessity, and besides, he restrained himself in such a manner, that no one could justly regard him as going beyond bounds; but as it is an unseemly thing to herald one's own praises, and a thing that is foreign to the inclinations of a modest man, he speaks by way of concession.
He calls this folly, because too often it is really no better. In his case it was necessary; yet, seeing others might apprehend it to be folly in him, he desires them to bear with it. Note, As much against the grain as it is with a proud man to acknowledge his infirmities, so much is it against the grain with a humble man to speak in his own praise.
Would to God--Translate as Greek, "I would that." bear with me--I may ask not unreasonably to be borne with; not so the false apostles (2Co 11:4, 20). my--not in the oldest manuscripts. folly--The Greek is a milder term than that for "foolishness" in 1Co 3:19;
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
2 Corinthians 11:4For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you…
leads to
I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
Through
1 Corinthians 1:21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
leads to
At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them…
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Through
2 Corinthians 5:13If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
leads to
I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.
