the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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New King James Version
2 Corinthians 12:1
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Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is necessary to boast, though it is not profitable, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
Ok, that's enough of that. I could go on and on, but I guess I need to tell y'all about what God showed me and told me.
As it is necessary for me to take glory to myself, though it is not a good thing, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
Well, it is not of profit to me to boast, for I will come to visions and revelations of [the] Lord.
Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. For I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
Surely it is not expedient for me to boast: yet I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I am compelled to boast. It is not a profitable employment, but I will proceed to visions and revelations granted me by the Lord.
It is not expedient for me, doubtlesse, to glory, I wil come to visions and reuelations of the Lord.
Really, to boast is not profitable to me, for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It profiteth me nothinge (no doute) to boaste. Neuertheles I wil come to ye visions and reuelacions off the LORDE.
Have not I reason to glory? for now I shall mention my visions and revelations from the Lord.
You've forced me to talk this way, and I do it against my better judgment. But now that we're at it, I may as well bring up the matter of visions and revelations that God gave me. For instance, I know a man who, fourteen years ago, was seized by Christ and swept in ecstasy to the heights of heaven. I really don't know if this took place in the body or out of it; only God knows. I also know that this man was hijacked into paradise—again, whether in or out of the body, I don't know; God knows. There he heard the unspeakable spoken, but was forbidden to tell what he heard. This is the man I want to talk about. But about myself, I'm not saying another word apart from the humiliations.
It is necessary to boast, though nothing is gained by it; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I must needs glory, though it is not expedient; but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is not expediet for me (no dout to reioyce. Neverthelesse I will come to visions and revelacios of ye lorde.
I must surely glory, though it is not expedient; but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
To boast, really, is not profitable for me, for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I must continue to brag. It will do no good, but I will talk now about visions and revelations from the Lord.
It is necessary to go on boasting. Though it is not profitable, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
I have to brag. There is nothing to be gained by it, but I must brag about the visions and other things that the Lord has shown me.
I have to boast. There is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is not expedient for me no doubt to reioyce: for I will come to visions and reuelations of the Lorde.
BOASTING is proper, but there is no advantage in it, and I prefer to relate the visions and revelations of our LORD.
It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. For I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I must boast, although it does not do any good. I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
I might boast, but it is not expedient; for I come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
Glorying must be, but it is not profitable: so I proceed to visions and revelations of our Lord.
This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord.
I have to talk about myself, even if it does no good. But I will keep on telling about some things I saw in a special dream and that which the Lord has shown me.
I must needs glory, though it is not expedient; but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is necessary to boast; nothing is to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
To be boasting, is needful, - it is not, indeed, profitable, yet will I come to visions and revelations of the Lord: -
If I must glory (it is not expedient indeed) but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is necessary to boast; it is not profitable, but I will proceed to visions and revelations of the Lord.
It is not expedient doubtles, for me to glorie, I wyl come to visions & reuelations of the Lorde.
There is more that I have to say about myself. It won't help, but I will talk now about visions and revelations from the Lord.
Boasting is necessary, though it is not beneficial; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I have to boast, even though it doesn't do any good. But I will now talk about visions and revelations given me by the Lord.
If it bihoueth to haue glorie, it spedith not; but Y schal come to the visiouns and to the reuelaciouns of the Lord.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
expedient: 2 Corinthians 8:10, John 16:7, John 18:14, 1 Corinthians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 10:23
to glory: 2 Corinthians 12:11, 2 Corinthians 11:16-30
I will come: Gr. For I will come
visions: 2 Corinthians 12:7, Numbers 12:6, Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 11:24, Daniel 10:5-10, Joel 2:28, Joel 2:29, Acts 9:10-17, Acts 18:9, Acts 22:17-21, Acts 23:11, Acts 26:13-19, Galatians 1:12, Galatians 2:2, 1 John 5:20
Reciprocal: Numbers 24:4 - saw Proverbs 25:27 - so Isaiah 1:1 - vision Ezekiel 11:1 - the spirit Ezekiel 40:2 - the visions Daniel 7:1 - visions Hosea 12:10 - multiplied Acts 11:5 - in a Acts 12:9 - wist not Acts 16:9 - a vision Acts 26:16 - in the Romans 4:2 - he hath Romans 15:17 - whereof 1 Corinthians 14:6 - revelation 1 Corinthians 15:8 - he was 2 Corinthians 5:12 - give 2 Corinthians 11:30 - must Ephesians 1:17 - revelation
Cross-References
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. [fn] And the Canaanites were then in the land.
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.
Then He said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it."
"You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham;
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, "You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him."
"Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, "Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.'
Gill's Notes on the Bible
It is not expedient doubtless for me to glory,.... Though it was lawful for him to glory, and was necessary in the present circumstances of things, in vindication of himself, and to preserve the Corinthians from being carried away with the insinuations of the false apostles; and so for the honour and interest of Christ and the Gospel; yet it was not expedient on some other accounts, or profitable and serviceable to himself; he might find that it tended to stir up pride, vanity, and elation of mind in him, and might be interpreted by others as proud boasting and vain glorying; wherefore he chose to drop it, and pass on to another subject; or rather though it was not expedient to proceed, yet, before he entirely quitted it, he thought it proper to say something of the extraordinary appearances of God unto him. Some copies, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, "if there was need of glorying, it is not indeed expedient"; the Syriac version, "there is need of glorying, but it is not expedient"; and the Arabic version, "neither have I need to glory, nor is it expedient for me: I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord"; such as the Lord had made to him, and not man; and which were not the fruit of his own fancy, or the delusions of Satan; but were from the Lord Jesus Christ, and his glory. The apostle might very well speak of "visions" or heavenly appearances, since he was favoured with many; his conversion was owing to a vision or appearance of Christ to him, whom he saw with his bodily eyes, and heard him speaking to him, and which he calls "the heavenly vision"; at another time when at Troas, a vision appeared to him in the night, and a man of Macedonia stood and prayed him to come over and help them; and when at Corinth the Lord spoke to him by a vision, and bid him not be afraid, but go on preaching the Gospel, because he had much people there to be brought in through his ministry: and as for revelations, besides what are ordinary and common to all believers, he had extraordinary ones; the Gospel and the scheme of it, the knowledge of the several particular doctrines of it, were not attained to by him in the common way, but he had them by the revelation of Jesus Christ; the several mysterious parts of it, particularly that of the calling of the Gentiles, to which might be added, the change that will be upon the living saints at Christ's second coming, were made known to him by revelation; and sometimes in this extraordinary way he was directed to go to such or such a place, as at a certain time he went up to Jerusalem by "revelation", where he was to do or suffer many things for the sake of Christ: though he had no revelation of anything that was different from, and much less contrary to the Gospel, and as it was preached by the other apostles; for there was an entire agreement between him and them in their ministry; see Galatians 2:2, and these visions and revelations were for his instruction, direction, and encouragement in the ministration of the Gospel; and being of an extraordinary nature, were suitable to those extraordinary times, and not to be expected in an ordinary way, nor is there any need of them now; besides, these were visions and revelations of the Lord, and not the effects of enthusiasm, and a warm imagination, nor diabolical delusions, or the pretensions and cheats of designing men; and were for the confirmation and establishment of the Gospel, and not to countenance a new scheme, or introduce a new dispensation; wherefore all visions and revelations men pretend to, which are for such a purpose, are to be despised and rejected.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
It is not expedient - It is not well; it does not become me. This may either mean that he felt and admitted that it did not become him to boast in this manner; that there was an impropriety in his doing it though circumstances had compelled him, and in this sense it is understood by nearly, or quite, all expositors; or it may be taken ironically. “Such a man as I am ought not to boast. So you say, and so it would seem. A man who has done no more than I have; who has suffered nothing; who has been idle and at ease as I have been, ought surely not to boast. And since there is such an evident impropriety in my boasting and speaking about myself, I will turn to another matter, and inquire whether the same thing may not be said about visions and revelations. I will speak, therefore, of a man who had some remarkable revelations, and inquire whether he has any right to boast of the favors imparted to him.” This seems to me to be the probable interpretation of this passage.
To glory - To boast; 2Co 10:8, 2 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 11:10. One of the charges which they alleged against him was, that he was given to boasting without any good reason. After the enumeration in the previous chapter of what he had done and suffered, he says that this was doubtless very true. Such a man has nothing to boast of.
I will come - Margin, “For I will.” Our translators have omitted the word (γὰρ gar) for in the text, evidently supposing that it is a mere expletive. Doddridge renders it, “nevertheless.” But it seems to me that it contains an important sense, and that it should be rendered by then. “Since it is not fit that I should glory, then I will refer to visions, etc. I will turn away then from that subject, and come to another.” Thus, the word (γὰρ gar) is used in John 7:41. “Shall then μὴ γὰρ mē gar Christ come out of Galilee?” Acts 8:31. “How can I then τὼ tō; γὰρ gar except some man should guide me?” see also Acts 19:35; Romans 3:3; Philippians 1:18.
To visions - The word “vision” is used in the Scriptures often to denote the mode in which divine communications were usually made to people. This was done by causing some scene to appear to pass before the mind as in a landscape, so that the individual seemed to see a representation of what was to occur in some future period. It was usually applied to prophecy, and is often used in the Old Testament; see my note on Isaiah 1:1, and also on Acts 9:10. The vision which Paul here refers to was that which he was permitted to have of the heavenly world; 2 Corinthians 12:4. He was permitted to see what perhaps no other mortal had seen, the glory of heaven.
And revelations of the Lord - Which the Lord had made. Or it may mean manifestations which the Lord had made of himself to him. The word rendered “revelations” means properly an “uncovering” (ἀποκάλυψις apokalupsis, from ἀποκαλύπτω apokaluptō, to uncover), and denotes a removal of the veil of ignorance and darkness, so that an object may be clearly seen; and is thus applied to truth revealed, because the obscurity is removed and the truth becomes manifest.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER XII.
St. Paul mentions some wonderful revelations which he had
received from the Lord, 1-5.
He speaks of his suffering in connection with these
extraordinary revelations, that his character might be
duly estimated, 6.
That he might not be too much exalted, a messenger of Satan is
sent to buffet him; his prayer for deliverance, and the Divine
answer, 7-9.
He exults in sufferings and reproaches, and vindicates his
apostleship, 10-13.
Promises to come and visit them, 14, 15.
Answers some objections, 16-18.
And expresses his apprehensions that when he visits them he
shall find many evils and disorders among them, 19-21.
NOTES ON CHAP. XII.
Verse 2 Corinthians 12:1. It is not expedient for me — There are several various readings on this verse which are too minute to be noticed here; they seem in effect to represent the verse thus: "If it be expedient to glory, (which does not become me,) I will proceed to visions," c. The plain meaning of the apostle, in this and the preceding chapter, in reference to glorying is, that though to boast in any attainments, or in what God did by him, was in all possible cases to be avoided, as being contrary to the humility and simplicity of the Gospel yet the circumstances in which he was found, in reference to the Corinthian Church, and his detractors there, rendered it absolutely necessary; not for his personal vindication, but for the honour of the Gospel, the credit of which was certainly at stake.
I will come to visions — οπτασιας. Symbolical representations of spiritual and celestial things, in which matters of the deepest importance are exhibited to the eye of the mind by a variety of emblems, the nature and properties of which serve to illustrate those spiritual things.
Revelations — αποκαλυψεις. A manifestation of things not before known, and such as God alone can make known, because they are a part of his own inscrutable counsels.
