Parallel Translations
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
Legacy Standard Bible
But even if I am unskilled in word, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
Simplified Cowboy Version
I may not be a great speaker, but that don't mean the knowledge I have isn't valuable. This has been clear to y'all from the start.
Bible in Basic English
But though I am rough in my way of talking, I am not so in knowledge, as we have made clear to all by our acts among you.
Darby Translation
But if [I am] a simple person in speech, yet not in knowledge, but in everything making [the truth] manifest in all things to you.
Christian Standard Bible®
Though untrained in public speaking, I am certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have always made that clear to you in everything.
World English Bible
But though I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not unskilled in knowledge. No, in every way we have been revealed to you in all things.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For if I am unskilful in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly manifest to you in all things.
Weymouth's New Testament
And if in the matter of speech I am no orator, yet in knowledge I am not deficient. Nay, we have in every way made that fully evident to you.
King James Version (1611)
But though I be rude in speach, yet not in knowledge; but we haue bene throughly made manifest among you in all things.
Literal Translation
But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge. But in every way I have been clearly revealed to you in all things.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And though I be rude in speakynge, yet am I not rude in knowlege. Howbeit amoge you I am knowne to the vttemost.
Mace New Testament (1729)
if my language is inelegant, my knowledge is not contemptible; but has been fully display'd among you on all occasions.
Amplified Bible
But even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am not [untrained] in knowledge [I know what I am talking about]; but we have made this evident to you in every way, in all things.
American Standard Version
But though I be rude in speech, yet am I not in knowledge; nay, in every way have we made this manifest unto you in all things.
Revised Standard Version
Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Though I be rude in speakynge yet I am not so in knowledge. How be it amonge you we are knowen to the vtmost what we are in all thynges.
Update Bible Version
But though [I am] unskilled in speaking, yet [I am] not [unskilled] in knowledge; certainly, in every way we have made [this] manifest to you in all things.
Webster's Bible Translation
But though [I am] rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.
Young's Literal Translation
and even if unlearned in word -- yet not in knowledge, but in every thing we were made manifest in all things to you.
New Century Version
I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
New English Translation
And even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way.
Berean Standard Bible
Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.
Contemporary English Version
I may not speak as well as they do, but I know as much. And this has already been made perfectly clear to you.
Complete Jewish Bible
I may not be a skilled speaker, but I do have the knowledge; anyhow, we have made this clear to you in every way and in every circumstance.
English Standard Version
Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And though I be rude in speaking, yet I am not so in knowledge, but among you wee haue beene made manifest to the vttermost, in all things.
George Lamsa Translation
But though I am a poor speaker, I am not poor in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.
Hebrew Names Version
But though I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not unskilled in knowledge. No, in every way we have been revealed to you in all things.
International Standard Version Even though I may be untrained as an orator, I am not so in the field of knowledge. We have made this clear to all of you in every possible way.1 Corinthians 1:17;
2 Corinthians 4:2;
5:11;
10:10;
12:12;
Ephesians 3:4;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
For if I am rude in my speech, I yet am not in my knowledge; but in every thing we are manifest among you.
Murdock Translation
For, though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but in all things we have been manifest among you.
New King James Version
Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested [fn] among you in all things.
New Living Translation
I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I'm not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.
New Life Bible
Even if it is hard for me to speak, I know what I am talking about. You know this by now.
English Revised Version
But though [I be] rude in speech, yet [am I] not in knowledge; nay, in everything we have made [it] manifest among all men to you–ward.
New Revised Standard
I may be untrained in speech, but not in knowledge; certainly in every way and in all things we have made this evident to you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, even if uncultured in my discourse, certainly not in my knowledge, - but, in every way, having made it manifest, in all things, unto you.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For although I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge: but in all things we have been made manifest to you.
King James Version
But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
Lexham English Bible
But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not in knowledge; certainly in everything we have made this clear to you in every way.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But though [I be] rude in speakyng, yet not in knowledge, but in all thynges among you, we haue ben well knowen to the vtmost.
Easy-to-Read Version
It is true that I am not a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
New American Standard Bible
But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
Good News Translation
Perhaps I am an amateur in speaking, but certainly not in knowledge; we have made this clear to you at all times and in all conditions.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For thouy Y be vnlerud in word, but not in kunnyng. For in alle thingis Y am open to you.
Contextual Overview
7I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end. Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff. Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.) I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to "brag" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying. Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life. 13Pseudo-Servants of God Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot "apostles," why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are. It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything. I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end. Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff. Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.) I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to "brag" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying. Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life. 14Pseudo-Servants of God Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot "apostles," why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are. It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything. I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end. Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff. Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.) I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to "brag" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying. Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life. 15Pseudo-Servants of God Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot "apostles," why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are. It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything. I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
rude: 2 Corinthians 10:10, 1 Corinthians 1:17, 1 Corinthians 1:21, 1 Corinthians 2:1-3, 1 Corinthians 2:13
not: Ephesians 3:4, 2 Peter 3:15, 2 Peter 3:16
but we: 2 Corinthians 4:2, 2 Corinthians 5:11, 2 Corinthians 7:2, 2 Corinthians 12:12
Reciprocal: Exodus 4:10 - eloquent 1 Corinthians 14:6 - knowledge 2 Corinthians 6:6 - knowledge 2 Corinthians 6:9 - well Galatians 4:13 - through
Cross-References
Genesis 3:22 God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"
Genesis 6:5 God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them."
Genesis 11:1At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.
Genesis 11:4 Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."
1 Kings 18:27By noon, Elijah had started making fun of them, taunting, "Call a little louder—he is a god, after all. Maybe he's off meditating somewhere or other, or maybe he's gotten involved in a project, or maybe he's on vacation. You don't suppose he's overslept, do you, and needs to be waked up?" They prayed louder and louder, cutting themselves with swords and knives—a ritual common to them—until they were covered with blood.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. Follow the impulses of your heart. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
But though I be rude in speech,.... Which might be objected to him, setting himself upon a level with men so famous for their diction, and elegance of style; and to this he answers, not by owning he was so, but granting it to be so; for the Apostle Paul was not an unlearned man, an idiot in speech, unskilful in language, his writings testify the contrary; he did not indeed, in his public ministry, dress his sermons with the flowers of rhetoric, or adorn his discourses with the words of human wisdom, with bombast, and great swelling words of vanity; he chose a plainer and easier style, more accommodated to the vulgar, to the capacities of the people he was concerned with; for he had not to do with philosophers and senators, but with the common people chiefly; with persons of every sex, age, and condition of life: in this sense indeed he acted as an idiot, a plebeian, a private person; he used a popular style, or, as the Jews say of several of their Rabbins s, he ××רש ×ש×× ×××××, "preached", or explained "in the common language" of people; which the common people used, and not the learned, and to which reference may be had here: but though he wisely pursued this method, as being most likely to be useful,
yet he was
not rude
in knowledge, or unskilful in the mysteries of the Gospel; he was well learned in the knowledge of Christ, and in the doctrines of grace, as all his discourses, sermons, and letters testified; and however negligent he might be thought to be of his style, and take no pains or care about the elegance of his language, but rather studied a plain and popular diction, yet he was always careful to convey profitable and useful knowledge to the souls of men; and thought his discourses might not be fraught with all the beauties of oratory, and enticing words of man's wisdom, they were full of spiritual knowledge, and showed him to have a large understanding of divine things, for the truth of which he appeals to the Corinthians:
but we have been thoroughly manifest among you in all things; his faith and doctrine, as well as manner of life, were well known unto them; he had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God unto them: his knowledge in the mystery of Christ's person and grace, and in all the parts of the everlasting Gospel, was no secret to them; he had used no artful methods to hide himself, or conceal the truth; but by manifestation of it, had commended himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God; and by observing this, as he had witnesses now among them of the truth of it, so he strikes at the hypocrisy and deceitful methods the false teachers took to cover themselves, their practices, and principles.
s T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 104. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
But though I be rude in speech - see the note, 2 Corinthians 10:10. The word rendered ârudeâ here (ιÌδιÏÌÏÎ·Ï idioÌteÌs) means properly a private citizen, in opposition to one in a public station; then a plebeian, or one unlettered or unlearned, in opposition to one of more elevated rank, or one who is learned; see the Acts 4:13 note; 1 Corinthians 14:16 note. The idea is, my language is that of a plain unlettered person. This was doubtless charged upon him by his enemies, and it may be that he designed in part to admit the truth of the charge.
Yet not in knowledge - I do not admit that I am ignorant of the religion which I profess to teach. I claim to be acquainted with the doctrines of Christianity. It does not appear that they charged him with ignorance. If it be asked how the admission that he was rude in speech consists with the fact that he was endowed by the Holy Spirit. with the power of speaking languages, we may observe that Paul had undoubtedly learned to speak Greek in his native place (Tarsus in Cilicia). and that the Greek which he had learned there was probably a corrupt kind, such as was spoken in that place. It was this Greek which he probably continued to speak; for there is no more reason to suppose that the Holy Spirit would aid him in speaking language which he had thus early learned than he would in speaking Hebrew. The endowments of the Holy Spirit were conferred to enable the apostles to speak languages which they had never learned, not in perfecting them in languages with which they were before acquainted. It may have been true, therefore, that Paul may have spoken some languages which he never learned with more fluency and perfection than he did those which he had learned to speak when he was young. See the remarks of the Archbishop of Cambray, as quoted by Doddridge in loc. It may be remarked. also, that some estimate of the manner of Paul on this point may be formed from his writings. Critics profoundly acquainted with the Greek language remark, that while there is great energy of thought and of diction in the writings of Paul; while he chooses or coins most expressive words, yet that there is everywhere a lack of Attic elegance of manner, and of the smoothness and beauty which were so grateful to a Grecian ear.
But we have been thoroughly made manifest ... - You have known all about me. I have concealed nothing from you, and you have had ample oppotunity to become thoroughly acquainted with me. The meaning is, âI need not dwell on this. I need speak no more of my manner of speech or knowledge. With all that you are well acquainted.â
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 2 Corinthians 11:6. But though I be rude in speech — ιδιÏÏÎ·Ï ÏÏ Î»Î¿Î³Ï Though I speak like a common unlettered man, in plain unadorned phrase, studying none of the graces of eloquence; yet I am not unskilled in the most profound knowledge of God, of spiritual and eternal things, of the nature of the human soul, and the sound truths of the Gospel system: ye yourselves are witnesses of this, as in all these things I have been thoroughly manifested among you.
Inspired men received all their doctrines immediately from God, and often the very words in which those doctrines should be delivered to the world; but in general the Holy Spirit appears to have left them to their own language, preventing them from using any expression that might be equivocal, or convey a contrary sense to that which God intended.
That St. Paul wrote a strong, nervous, and sufficiently pure language, his own writings sufficiently testify; but the graces of the Greek tongue he appears not to have studied, or at least he did not think it proper to use them; for perhaps there is no tongue in the world that is so apt to seduce the understanding by its sounds and harmony, as the Greek. It is not an unusual thing for Greek scholars to the present day to be in raptures with the harmony of a Greek verse, the sense of which is but little regarded, and perhaps is little worth! I should suppose that God would prevent the inspired writers from either speaking or writing thus, that sound might not carry the hearer away from sense; and that the persuasive force of truth might alone prevail, and the excellence of the power appear to be of God and not of man. Taking up the subject in this point of view, I see no reason to have recourse to the supposition, or fable rather, that the apostle had an impediment in his speech, and that he alludes to this infirmity in the above passage.
