2 Corinthians 11:30
in 2 Corinthians 11If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my weakness.
KJV
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
⋯
This verse in 2 Corinthians 11
Commentary
10 notes on this verseBy "weakness" he means persecutions; for in hunger, scourging, shipwreck, and the endurance of other calamities, human weakness is revealed. He does not mention signs here, because they were a gift of God; but the calamities, together with the power of God, also demonstrated his …
This site's exposition
I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities
on 2 Corinthians 11:30-31
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities: the boast Paul promised at verse 1 arrives at its true content, not achievements but weaknesses, and the bench reads the statement as the hinge preparing the thorn passage of chapter 12, a theology of glorying in infirmity rather than accomplishment. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not: he seals the catalogue with an oath invoking God as witness, and the commentators note the solemnity as proportionate to how easily such a list could be doubted or dismissed as exaggeration by a church that had never seen most of it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Paul is saying this because if a Christian must boast, he should boast in humility, from which comes growth in God's sight.
"If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern my weakness." Seest thou that he no where glorieth of miracles, but of his persecutions and his trials? For this is meant by "weaknesses." And he shows that his warfare was of a diversified character. For both the Jews warred upon him, and the Gentiles stood against him, and the false brethren fought with him, and brethren caused him sorrow, through their weakness and by taking offense:-on every side he found trouble and disturbance, from friends and from strangers. This is the especial mark of an Apostle, by these things is the Gospel woven.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then when he says, if I must boast, he confirms some of the statements made above. Or say that above he speaks about the evils he commendably suffered; but here about the evils he prudently avoided. But because the avoidance of evils that arise against …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In the last two verses , he mentions one particular part of his sufferings out of its place, as if he had forgotten it before, or because the deliverance God wrought for him was most remarkable; namely, the danger he was in at Damascus, soon after he was converted, and not settled in Christianity, at least in the ministry and apostleship.
If I must needs glory....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
I will glory - which concern mine infirmities - I will not boast of my natural or acquired powers; neither in what God has done by me; but rather in what I have suffered for him.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
glory of . . . infirmities--A striking contrast! Glorying or boasting of what others make matter of shame, namely, infirmities; for instance, his humbling mode of escape in a basket (2Co 11:33).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
If I must needs glory - It is unpleasant for me to boast, but circumstances have compelled me. But since I am compelled, I will not boast of my rank, or talents, but of that which is regarded by some as an infirmity. Mine infirmities - Greek, “The things of my weakness.” The word here used is derived from the same word which is rendered weak,” in 2Co 11:29. He intends doubtless to refer here to what had preceded in his enumeration of the trials which he had endured. He had spoken of sufferings. He had endured much. He had also spoken of that tenderness of feeling which prompted him to sympathize so deeply when others suffered. He admitted that he often wept, and trembled, and glowed with strong feelings on occasions which perhaps to many would not seem to call for such strong emotions, and which they might be disposed to set down as a weakness or infirmity. This might especially be the case among the Greeks, where many philosophers, as the Stoics, were disposed to regard all sympathetic feeling, and all sensitiveness to suffering as an infirmity. But Paul admitted that he was disposed to glory in this alone. He gloried that he had sneered so much; that he had endured so many trials on account of Christianity, and that he had a mind that was capable of feeling for others and of entering into their, sorrows and trials. Well might he do this, for there is no more lovely feature in the mind of a virtuous man, and there is no more lovely influence of Christianity than this, that it teaches us to “bear a brother’s woes,” and to sympathize in all the sorrows and joys of others. Philosophy and infidelity may be dissocial, cheerless, cold; but it is not so with Christianity. […]
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| καυχᾶσθαι | kauchasthai | to boast | G2744 → | 37 times |
| δεῖ, | dei | it behooves [me], | G1163 → | 101 times |
| τὰ | ta | [in] the [things] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀσθενείας | astheneias | weakness | G769 → | 24 times |
| μου | mou | of mine | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| καυχήσομαι.¶ | kauchesomai | I will boast. | G2744 → | 37 times |
εἰIf
eiG1487 →508 times
καυχᾶσθαιto boast
kauchasthaiG2744 →37 times
δεῖ,it behooves [me],
deiG1163 →101 times
τὰ[in] the [things]
taG3588 →19766 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
ἀσθενείαςweakness
astheneiasG769 →24 times
μουof mine
mouG3165 →1936 times
καυχήσομαι.¶I will boast.
kauchesomaiG2744 →37 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 2:3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 13:4
For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. And though we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him to serve you.
- 1 Corinthians 4:10–13
We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.
- 2 Corinthians 13:9
In fact, we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection.
- 2 Corinthians 12:5–10
I will boast about such a man, but I will not boast about myself, except in my weaknesses.
- 2 Corinthians 10:10
For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.”
- 2 Corinthians 13:4
Through
Proverbs 25:27It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one’s own glory.
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:2
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.
- John 5:44
How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
- Proverbs 27:2
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Corinthians
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily 25 on 2 Corinthians; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Corinthians.