2 Corinthians 11:23

BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

“Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.”

What this verse means

A short, plain-language explanation of 2 Corinthians 11:23 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.

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BSBPD

“Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.”

Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)
KJVPD

“Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.”

King James Version · Public Domain
ASVPD

“Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft.”

American Standard Version · Public Domain
YLTPD

“ministrants of Christ are they? --as beside myself I speak--I more; in labours more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths many times;”

Young's Literal Translation · Public Domain
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Cross references

Other passages that echo 2 Corinthians 11:23 — 24 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  1. Acts 9:16I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”
  2. Acts 14:19Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.
  3. Acts 16:23And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
  4. Acts 20:23I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.
  5. Acts 21:11Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
  6. Acts 24:26At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. So he sent for Paul frequently and talked with him.
  7. Acts 25:14Since they were staying several days, Festus laid out Paul’s case before the king: “There is a certain man whom Felix left in prison.
  8. Acts 27:1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.
  9. Acts 28:16When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to stay by himself, with a soldier to guard him.
  10. Acts 28:30Paul stayed there two full years in his own rented house, welcoming all who came to visit him.
  11. Romans 8:36As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
  12. 1 Corinthians 3:5What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
  13. 1 Corinthians 4:1So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
  14. 1 Corinthians 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
  15. 1 Corinthians 15:30And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
  16. 2 Corinthians 1:9Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.
  17. 2 Corinthians 3:6And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
  18. 2 Corinthians 4:11For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
  19. 2 Corinthians 6:4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities;
  20. 2 Corinthians 6:9as unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;
  21. 2 Corinthians 10:7You are looking at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that we belong to Christ just as much as he does.
  22. 2 Corinthians 11:5I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.”
  23. 2 Corinthians 11:24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
  24. 2 Corinthians 12:11I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.

Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

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