I wish that you would bear with me in a little  ¹foolishness; but indeed you do bear with me.

For I am jealous over you with a  ¹jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure  ²virgin to Christ.

But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your  ¹thoughts would be corrupted from the  ²simplicity and the purity toward Christ.

For if indeed he who comes preaches  ¹another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or you receive a  ¹different spirit, which you have not received, or a  ¹different gospel, which you have not accepted, you bear  ²well with him.

But I count myself to be inferior to the  ¹super-apostles in nothing.

But even if I am a  ¹layman in speech, yet I am not in knowledge; indeed in every way we have made this manifest in all things to you.

Or did I commit a sin, abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I announced the gospel of God to you free of charge?

I robbed other churches, taking wages for the ministry to you.

And when I was present with you and lacked, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia filled up my lack, and in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and will keep myself.

The  ¹truthfulness of Christ is in me, that this boasting shall not be stopped as it regards me in the regions of Achaia.

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows.

But what I do, I also will do, that I may cut off the opportunity of those desiring an opportunity, that in the thing in which they boast, they may be found even as we.

For such ones are  ¹false apostles, deceitful workers,  ²transfiguring themselves into apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, for  ¹Satan himself transfigures himself into an  ²angel of light.

Therefore it is no great thing if also his ministers transfigure themselves into  ¹ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Again I say, Let no one think me to be foolish; but if otherwise, accept me even as if I were foolish, that I also may boast a little.

What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord but as if in foolishness, in this  ¹confidence of boasting.

Since many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast.

For you bear gladly with fools because you yourselves are  ¹wise.

For you bear it if anyone enslaves you, if anyone devours you, if anyone  ¹takes you, if anyone lifts himself up, if anyone beats you in the face.

 ¹By way of self-disparagement I say this,  ²Supposedly we ourselves were weak. But in whatever anyone else is daring, I speak in foolishness, I also am daring.

Hebrews are they? I also. Israelites are they? I also. The  ¹seed of Abraham are they? I also.

Ministers of Christ are they? I speak as being  ¹beside myself, I more so! In labors more abundantly, in imprisonments more abundantly, in stripes  ²excessively, in deaths often.

Under the hands of the Jews five times I received forty stripes less one;

Three times I was beaten with  ¹rods, once I was stoned,  ²three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep;

In journeys often, in dangers of  ¹rivers, in dangers of  ²robbers, in dangers from my race, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers in the sea, in dangers among  ³false brothers;

In labor and hardship; in  ¹watchings often; in hunger and thirst; in  ²fastings often; in  ³cold and  ⁴nakedness —

Apart from the things which have  ¹not been mentioned, there is this: the crowd of cares pressing upon me daily, the  ²anxious concern for all the churches.

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and  ¹I myself do not  ²burn?

If I must boast, I will boast of the  ¹things of my weakness.

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

In Damascus, the  ¹governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me;

And in a basket I was lowered through a window, through the wall, and escaped his hands.

Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
A foreigner, and not your own lips.

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty,
But a fool's vexation is heavier than both of them.

Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming,
But who can stand before jealousy?

Open rebuke is better
Than love that is hidden.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.

The full soul loathes a honeycomb,
But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

Like a bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who wanders from his place.

Oil and perfume rejoice the heart;
So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend.

Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend
To go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity:
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
That I may answer him who reproaches me.

A prudent man sees evil and hides himself;
But the simple pass on and suffer punishment for it.

Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger,
And hold one in pledge who is surety for a foreign woman.

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice,
Arousing him early in the morning,
It will be reckoned as a curse to him.

A continual dripping on a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike;

He who would restrain her restrains the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.

Iron sharpens iron;
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
And he who takes care of his master will be honored.

As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man.

Sheol and  ¹Abaddon are never satisfied,
And the eyes of man are never satisfied.

The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And a man is tried by the praise given him.

Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
His folly will not depart from him.

Know well the condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds —

For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure from generation to generation —

Then when the grass has disappeared, and the tender grass is seen,
And the herbs of the mountains have been gathered in,

The lambs will be for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field;

And there will be goats' milk enough for your food,
For the food of your household,
And for the sustenance for your maidens.

The wicked flee when no man pursues,
But the righteous are as bold as a lion.

When a land revolts, it has many rulers;
But by him who has understanding and knowledge it endures.

A destitute man who oppresses the poor
Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
But those who keep the law contend with them.

Evil men do not understand justice,
But those who seek Jehovah understand all things.

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
Than he who is perverse in his ways though he is rich.

Whoever keeps the law is an understanding son,
But he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.

He who increases his substance by interest and usury
Gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.

He who turns away his ear from hearing the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination.

Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way
Will himself fall into his own pit,
But the perfect will inherit good.

The rich man is wise in his own conceit,
But the poor man who has understanding searches him out.

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory;
But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

He who covers his transgressions will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

 ¹Blessed is the man who always fears,
But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

Like a roaring lion and a roving bear
Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

The ruler who lacks understanding is also a great oppressor,
But he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

A man who is burdened with a person's blood
 ¹Will be a fugitive until death;
Let no man support him.

Whoever walks uprightly will be delivered,
But he who is perverse in his ways will fall all at once.

He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,
But he who pursues worthless things will have plenty of poverty.

A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

To have respect of persons is not good,
Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

A man who is envious hastens after wealth,
And does not know that want will come upon him.

He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
Than he who flatters with the tongue.

Whoever robs his father or his mother and says,
It is no transgression,
Is the companion of a man who destroys.

A greedy person stirs up contention,
But he who trusts in Jehovah will prosper.

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,
But he who walks wisely will be delivered.

He who gives to the poor man will not lack,
But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

When the wicked rise, men hide themselves;
But when they perish, the righteous increase.