2 Corinthians 11:20

11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Co 11:20. Γὰρ, for) An intensive particle; ye suffer fools; for ye even suffer oppressors. Cleon in Thucydides, lib. iii.—πέφυκεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τὸ μὲν θεραπεῦον ὑπερφρονεῖν· τὸ δὲ μὴ ὑπεῖκον θαυμάζειν, the man was naturally disposed to treat with contempt flattering attentions, but to admire independence.—εἴ τις, if any one) as the false apostles, who were given to much boasting.—καταδουλοῖ, bring you into bondage) The genus; two pairs of species follow.—κατεσθίει) So LXX., Psa 53:5.—λαμβάνει, takes) viz. from you; for ὑμᾶς, you, is not necessarily to be supplied, as appears if we compare the following clause.—ἐπαίρεται, exalt himself [is exalted]) under the pretext of the apostolic dignity.—εἰς πρόσωπον δέρει, smite you on the face) under the appearance of divine zeal. That may have happened to the Corinthians: comp. Isa 58:4; 1Ki 22:24; Neh 13:25; 1Co 4:11; 1Ti 3:3.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_11:20. Argumentum a majori for what is said in 2Co_11:19, bitterly sarcastic against the complaisance of the Corinthians towards the imperious (καταδουλοῖ), covetous (κατεσθίει), slyly capturing (λαμβάνει), arrogant (ἐπαίρεται), and audaciously violent (εἰς πρόσωπον δέρει) conduct of the false apostle.

καταδουλοῖ] enslaves. Comp. on Gal_2:4; Dem. 249. 2, and the passages in Wetstein. Paul has used the active, not the middle, as he leaves quite out of view the authority, whose lordship was aimed at; beyond doubt, however (see the following points), the pseudo-apostles wished to make themselves lords of the church, partly in religious, i.e. Judaistic effort (comp. 2Co_1:24), partly also in a material respect (see what follows).

κατεσθίει] swallows up, devours, sc. ὑμᾶς, a figurative way of denoting not the depriving them of independence in a Christian point of view (Hofmann), which the reader could the less guess, since it was already said in καταδουλ., but the course of greedily gathering to themselves all their property. Comp. Psa_53:5; Mat_23:13; Luk_15:30; Add. to Est_1:11; Hom. Od. iii 315: μή τοι κατὰ πάντα φάγωσι κτήματα, Dem. 992. 25; Aesch. c. Tim. 96. So also the Latin devorare (Quintil. viii. 6). Comp. also Jacobs, ad Anthol. X. pp. 217, 230. Rückert, who will not concede the avarice of the opponents (see on 2Co_11:12), explains it of rending the church into parties. Quite against the meaning of the word; for in Gal_5:15 ἀλλήλους stands alongside. And would it not be wonderful, if in such a company of worthlessness avarice were wanting?

λαμβάνει] sc. ὑμᾶς, captures you. Comp. 2Co_12:16. The figure is taken from hunting, and denotes the getting of somebody into ones power (Dem. 115. 10, 239. 17) in a secret way, by machinations, etc. (hence different from καταδουλοῖ). Comp. Reiske, Ind. Dem., ed. Schaef. p 322: devincire sibi mentes hominum deditas et veluti captas aut fascino quodam obstrictas. This meaning is held by Wolf, Emmerling, Flatt, Billroth, Rückert, de Wette, Osiander, and others. The usual older interpretation: if any one takes your goods from you (so also Ewald), is to be set aside, because ὑμᾶς would necessarily have to be supplied, and because already the far stronger κατεσθίει has preceded. The same is the case with Hofmanns interpretation: if any one seizes hold on you (treats you as a thing), which after the two previous points would be nothing distinctiv.

ἐπαίρεται] exalts himself (proudly). See the passages in Wetstein. As in this clause ὑμᾶς cannot be again supplied, and thus the supplying of it is interrupted, ὑμᾶς is again added in the following claus.

εἰς πρόσωπ. δέρει] represents an extraordinary, very disgraceful and insolent maltreatment. Comp. 1Ki_22:24; Mat_5:39; Luk_22:64; Act_23:2; Philostr. vit. Apoll. vii. 23. On the impetuous fivefold repetition of εἰ, comp. 1Ti_5:10.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 11:20 . ἀνέχεσθε γὰρ κ . τ . λ .: for ye bear with a man if he (we cannot press τις so as to point to any special individual; cf. 2Co 10:7 ) enslave you (in contrast to any such tyranny, St. Paul describes himself as the δοῦλος of the Corinthians; see 2Co 4:5 , and cf. Act 15:10 ); if he devour you, i.e. , robs you of your substance by greedily demanding maintenance, as these “superfine Apostles” did (see on 2Co 11:12 , and cf. Rom 16:18 , Phi 3:19 ); if he take you captive ( λαμβάνειν is thus used of catching fish, Luk 5:5 ; cf. chap. 2Co 12:16 . Field defends the A.V. “taketh of you,” i.e. , takes money, by appealing to the Peshitto, and also by the usage of good Greek writers); if he exalt himself ( cf. 2Co 10:12 , 2Co 11:18 ); if he smite you on the face . A blow in the face was, and is, a common form of insult in the East ( cf. 1Ki 22:24 , Mat 5:39 ; Mat 26:67 , Act 23:2 , 1Co 4:11 ); and the despotic teachers whom the Corinthians tolerated had very likely inflicted this last indignity upon them, Cf. 1Ti 3:3 , Tit 1:7 , where it is forbidden to the ἐπίσκοποι to be “strikers”. “Such are your teachers,” he says to them, “ I am but weak in comparison with these strenuous spiritual directors.”

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Before he cometh to the matter, he toucheth the Corinthians, who persuading themselves to very wise men, did not mark in the mean season that those false apostles abused their simplicity for advantage.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

For--Ye may well "bear with" fools; for ye even "bear with" oppressors. Translate, "Ye bear with them."

a man--as the false apostles do.

bring you into bondage--to himself. Translate "brings," not "bring"; for the case is not merely a supposed case, but a case actually then occurring. Also "devours" (namely, by exactions, Mat 23:24; Psa 53:4), "takes," "exalts," "smites."

take of you--So the Greek for "take" is used for "take away from" (Rev 6:4). ALFORD translates, as in Co2 12:16, "catches you."

exalt himself--under the pretext of apostolic dignity.

smite you on the face--under the pretext of divine zeal. The height of insolence on their part, and of servile endurance on yours (Kg1 22:24; Neh 13:25; Luk 22:64; Act 23:2; Ti1 3:3).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. For ye suffer] As you are so meek and gentle as to submit to be brought into bondage, to have your property devoured, your goods taken away, yourselves laid in the dust, so that others may exalt themselves over you, yea, and will bear from those the most degrading indignity; then of course, you will bear with one who has never insulted, defrauded, devoured, taken of you, exalted himself against you, or offered you any kind of indignity; and who only wishes you to bear his confident boasting, concerning matters which he can substantiate.

The expressions in this verse are some evidence that the false apostle was a Judaizing teacher. You suffer, says the apostle, if a man, καταδουλοι, bring you into bondage, probably meaning to the Jewish rites and ceremonies, Ga 4:9; Ga 5:1. If he devour you; as the Pharisees did the patrimony of the widows, and for a pretence made long prayers; if a man take of you, exact different contributions, pretendedly for the temple at Jerusalem, c. If he exalt himself, pretending to be of the seed of Abraham, infinitely higher in honour and dignity than all the families of the Gentiles if he smite you on the face-treat you with indignity, as the Jews did the Gentiles, considering them only as dogs, and not fit to be ranked with any of the descendants of Jacob.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. For ye bear with it, if any one. There are three ways in which this may be understood. He may be understood as reproving the Corinthians in irony, because they could not endure any thing, as is usually the case with effeminate persons; or he charges them with indolence, because they had given themselves up to the false Apostles in a disgraceful bondage; or he repeats, as it were, in the person of another, what was spitefully affirmed respecting himself, as if he claimed for himself a tyrannical authority over them. The second meaning is approved by Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Augustine, and hence it is commonly received; and, indeed, it corresponds best with the context, although the third is not less in accordance with my views. For we see, how he was calumniated from time to time by the malevolent, as if he domineered tyrannically, while he was very far from doing so. As, however, the other meaning is more generally received, I have no objection, that it should be held as the true one.

Now this statement will correspond with the preceding one in this way: “You bear with every thing from others, if they oppress you, if they demand what belongs to you, if they treat you disdainfully. Why then will you not bear with me, as they are in no respect superior to me?” For as to his saying that he is not weak, he means that he had been endowed by God with such excellent graces, that he ought not to be looked upon as of the common order. For the word weak has a more extensive signification, as we shall see again ere long.

It has been the invariable custom, and will be so to the end, to resist contumaciously the servants of God, to get enraged on the least occasion, to grumble and murmur incessantly, to complain of even a moderate strictness, to hold all discipline in abhorrence; while, on the other hand, they put themselves under servile subjection to false apostles, impostors, or mere worthless pretenders, give them liberty to do any thing whatever, and patiently submit to and endure, whatever burden they may choose to impose upon them. Thus, at the present day, you will scarcely find one in thirty, who will put his neck willingly under Christ’s yoke, while all have endured with patience a tyranny so severe as that of the Pope. Those very persons are all at once in an uproar, in opposition to the fatherly and truly salutary reproofs of their pastors, who, on the other hand, had formerly swallowed down quietly every kind of insult, even the most atrocious, from the monks. Are not those worthy of Antichrist’s torturing rack, rather than of Christ’s mild sway, who have ears so tender and backward to listen to the truth? But thus it has been from the beginning.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(20) For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage.—Every word in the sentence clearly points to something that Titus had told him of the action of these rival teachers. They reproduced, in their worst form, the vices of the Pharisaism of Palestine (Mat_23:4; Mat_23:14; Mat_23:25). They enslaved the consciences of men (the same word is used of the same class of men in Gal_2:4) by pressing on them an iron code of rules which left no room for the free play of conscience and of reason in those over whom they claimed to act as directors.

If a man devour you.—The word again reminds us of our Lord’s denunciation of the teachers who “devoured widows’ houses” (Mat_23:14).

If a man take of you . . .—The words in italics are wrongly supplied, and turn this clause into a feeble repetition of the preceding. Better, if a man takes you in. In 2Co_12:16, we have the same construction (“I caught you with guile”) obviously with this sense.

If a man smite you on the face.—This last form of outrage was, as St. Paul was soon to experience (Act_23:2), not unfamiliar to Jewish priests and scribes, as the most effective way of silencing an opponent. We have an earlier instance of its application in the action of Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah (1Ki_22:24). That it had found its way into the Christian Church in the apostolic time is seen in St. Paul’s rule that a bishop should be no “striker” (1Ti_3:3; Tit_1:7). It is obvious that he had heard of an instance in which this had actually been done at Corinth, and he taunts them with the tameness of their submission. Did he forget, or had he not as yet heard the law of Mat_5:39; or was he, knowing it, for a time unmindful of it, in this rush of emotion which he himself feels to be simply human, and therefore not inspired?

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. For ye suffer] (susteynen, Wiclif). “This may be understood in three ways. (1) He may be understood as reproving the Corinthians ironically, because of their inability to bear with anything, or (2) as charging them with sluggishness of spirit, because they had shamefully enslaved themselves to the false Apostles, or (3) he repeats in the person of another what was maliciously affirmed regarding himself, namely, that he claimed a tyrannical authority over them.” Calvin. If, with him and many ancient commentators, we adopt (2), the sense is, as Calvin goes on to say, ‘You bear with all kinds of indignities from others, why not with far less from me, who am in every respect their equal, if not their superior, in the very qualifications by which you set so much store?’ This interpretation agrees best with the context (see next verse). The connection of this verse with the former will then be as follows: ‘You pride yourselves on being sensible people, and certainly you have immense toleration for folly. You even endure the foolish—or worse than foolish—insults of men who have no claim whatever to lord it over you. Why then not bear with me, when I condescend for a moment to the level of their folly? You will crouch to worthless pretenders, why resist the voice of real authority?’

if a man bring you into bondage] Literally, enslave you. Our translation is Tyndale’s. Cf. Gal_2:4; Gal_4:9; Gal_5:1.

devour you] Cf. Mat_23:14; and the LXX. of Isa_9:12. These false teachers were animated by none of St Paul’s delicacy as regards money matters. It could not be said of them that they were no Apostles, because they had no claim to be maintained by the Churches.

take of you] Rather, seize you, i.e. as a hunter his victim, or a man his property (cf. ch. 2Co_12:16). The earlier versions rendered simply by take, as though doubtful of the meaning. It was the Geneva that first added ‘your goods.

smite you on the face] An utterly extraordinary and inconceivable piece of presumption, according to our modern notions. But we do not habitually realize the immense extent to which Christianity has leavened our habits. Dean Stanley refers us to 1Ki_22:24; Mat_5:39; Luk_22:64; Act_23:2; 1Ti_3:3; Tit_1:7; and to the canon of the Council of Braga (a.d. 675), which orders that no bishop at his will and pleasure shall strike (the original, however, seems to imply scourging) his clergy, lest he lose the respect which they owe him. He might have referred also to the famous Latrocinium, or Robber-Synod of Ephesus, in which one patriarch of the Church and his adherents literally stamped another to death, and even to a period so late as the Council of Trent, in which it is admitted, even by the Jesuit historian Pallavicino, that scenes of personal violence occurred among those who were or should have been teachers of religion. See his History of the Council of Trent, Book viii. ch. 6.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I speak as concerning reproach,.... These words may be considered either as explanative of the latter part of the former verse, "if a man smite you on the face"; that is not to be understood strictly and literally, of one man's striking another on the face, but of reproach and contumelious language, used by the false apostles to the Corinthians; or they may have reference to the apostle's design in the whole, which was partly to reproach, the Corinthians for acting such a stupid part, in patiently bearing so many and such indignities from these men; and partly to expose the scandalous and reproachful usage of them by the false apostles, that if possible their eyes might be opened to see through them, and discard them: or else these words may be regarded in connection with what follows,

as though we had been weak; and then the apostle's meaning is, that as to the business of scandal and reproach he was speaking of, this was not confined to the Corinthians only, but they the true apostles had their share of it; for the false apostles reproached them, as poor, weak, fearful, and pusillanimous men; because they did not use that authority, and exercise that domination over them, they did not bring them into bondage, devour their substance, take away their goods from them by force, insult over them, and treat them in an ignominious and contemptuous manner; and intimated that they were upon all accounts inferior to them, and not worthy to be mentioned with them; which moved the apostle to exert himself, and boldly rise up in his own defence, saying,

howbeit, wherein soever any is bold; to boast of his pedigree, character, office, and usefulness,

I speak foolishly; as it might seem, and be so interpreted by some,

I am bold also; to enter the lists with him, to compare notes, and see on which side the superiority lies; and which is done in the following verses, to the full confutation of all the pride, vanity, blind boasting of the false apostles.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.

Ver. 20. For ye suffer, if, &c.] As the Popish penitentiaries, those miserably misled and muzzled creatures. They write of our King Henry II, that going to Canterbury to visit the sepulchre of his own martyr, Thomas Beckett, coming within sight of the church, he alighted, and went three miles on his bare feet, which with the hard stones were forced to yield bloody tokens of his devotion on the way. (Daniel’s Hist.) Clemens V, pope, caused Dandalus, the Venetian ambassador, to come before him tied in chains, and to wallow under his table with dogs, while his Holiness sat at supper. The pope lashed Henry IV of France (in the person of his ambassador at Rome) after the singing of every verse of Miserere , until the whole Psalm was sung out. Sed exorto iam evangelii iubare, sagaciores (at spero) principes ad nutum Romani Orbilii non solvent subligacula, saith a great divine. (Gab. Powell on Tolerat.)

If a man take of you] By way of gratuity, but not of wages; or by their followers, and not by themselves. No Capuchin {a} among the Papists may take or touch silver. This metal is as very anathema to these, as the wedge of gold to Achan; at the offer whereof he starts back, as Moses from the serpent. Yet he carries a boy with him that takes and carries it, and never complains of either metal or measure.

{a} A friar of the order of St. Francis, of the new rule of 1528. So called from the sharp-pointed capuche, adopted first in 1525, and confirmed to them by Pope Clement VII in 1528. ŒD

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For ye suffer ... - You bear patiently with people who impose on you in every way, and who are constantly defrauding you, though you profess to be so wise, and you may bear with me a little, though I have no such intention. Seriously, if you bear with boasters who intend to delude and deceive you in various ways, you may bear with one who comes to you with no such intention, but with an honest purpose to do good.

If a man bring you into bondage - (καταδουλοῖ katadouloi). If a man, or if anyone (εἴ τις ei tis) “make a slave of you,” or reduce you to servitude. The idea is, doubtless, that the false teachers set up a lordship over their consciences; destroyed their freedom of opinion; and made them subservient to their will. They really took away their Christian freedom as much as if they had been slaves. In what way this was done is unknown. It may be that they imposed on them rites and forms, commanded expensive and inconvenient ceremonies, and required arduous services merely at their own will. A false religion always makes slaves. It is only true Christianity that leaves perfect freedom. All pagans are slaves to their priests; all fanatics are slaves to some fanatical leader; all those who embrace error are slaves to those who claim to be their guides. The papist everywhere is the slave of the priest, and the despotism there is as great as in any region of servitude whatever.

If a man devour you - This is exceedingly sarcastic. The idea is, “Though you are so wise, yet you in fact tolerate people who impose on you - no matter though they eat you up, or consume all that you have. By their exorbitant demands they would consume all you have - or, as we would say, eat you out of house and home.” All this they took patiently; and freely gave all that they demanded. False teachers are always rapacious. They seek the property, not the souls of those to whom they minister. Not satisfied with a maintenance, they aim to obtain all, and their plans are formed to secure as much as possible of those to whom they minister.

If a man take of you - If he take and seize upon your possessions. If he comes and takes what he pleases and bears it away as his own.

If a man exalt himself - If he set himself up as a ruler and claim submission. No matter how arrogant his claims, yet you are ready to bear with him. You might then bear with me in the very moderate demands which I make on your obedience and confidence.

If a man smite you on the face - The word rendered here as “smite” (δέρω derō) means properly “to skin, to flay”; but in the New Testament it means “to beat, to scourge” - especially so as “to take off the skin”; Mat 21:35; Mar 12:3, Mar 12:5. The idea here is, if anyone treats you with contumely and scorn - since there can be no higher expression of it than to strike a man on the face; Mat 26:67. It is not to be supposed that this occurred literally among the Corinthians; but the idea is, that the false teachers really treated them with as little respect as if they smote them on the face. In what way this was done is unknown; but probably it was by their domineering manners, and the little respect which they showed for the opinions and feelings of the Corinthian Christians. Paul says that as they bore this very patiently, they might allow him to make some remarks about himself in self-commendation.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

St. Paul still continues to speak ironically, that they will permit him to praise himself in his own justification, since they have permitted these false teachers to reduce them to bondage under the law, to devour their substance, and to behave haughtily to them, striking them on the face, &c. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

If any domineer over you, as if you were their slaves, or if any bring you into subjection to the rites of the ceremonial law; if they

devour and make a prey of you, take wages of you, and do nothing without hire; if they carry themselves proudly, exalting themselves above you; nay, if they

smite you, you will suffer and bear with such: this is more than to bear with a little folly and indiscretion in me. This is observable, that men of corrupt hearts and loose lives will better bear with teachers that will humour and spare them in their lusts, than with such as are faithful to their souls in instructing and reproving them, though they carry themselves with the greatest innocency and justice towards them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. For ye suffer—Paul now describes, in somewhat figurative terms, the treatment these Corinthians, in their fancied wisdom, tamely accepted from the Christine false apostles.

Bondage—To this authority and these false doctrines.

Devour you—Use and ruin you for his own advantage.

Take of you—Exact wages from you as apostles.

Smite you on the face—The last of insults.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage. The verse gives us an unexpected and painful glimpse of the enslaving, (Gal_2:4) greed-loving, (Mat_23:14 Rom_16:18) gain-hunting, (1Pe_5:2, 1Pe_5:3) domineering. (3Jn_1:9) and even personally violent and insulting character of these teachers; whom yet, strange to say, the Corinthians seem to take at their own estimate, and to tolerate any extreme of insolence from them, while they were jealously suspicious of the disinterested, gentle, and humble apostle. If a man devour you. As the Pharisees "devoured" widows" houses. (Mat_23:14) Take of you; rather, seize you; makes you his captives. The verb is the same as "caught you," in 2Co_12:16. Smite you on the face. They must have brought their insolence with them from Jerusalem, where, as we see, not only from the details of our Lord"s various mockeries, but from the accounts of the priests in Josephus and the Talmud, the priests made free use of their fists and staves! The fact that so many of the converts were downtrodden slaves and artisans would make them less likely to resent conduct to which they were daily accustomed among the heathen. Neither Greeks nor Orientals felt to anything like the same extent as ourselves the disgrace of a blow. That sense of disgrace rises flora the freedom which Christianity has gradually wrought for us, and the deep sense of the dignity of human nature, which it has inspired Christ had been so smitten, and so was Paul himself long afterwards, (Act_23:2) and he had to teach even Christian bishops that they must be "no strikers" (1Ti_3:3; Tit_1:7) The "syllogism of violence" has, alas! been in familiar use among religious teachers in all ages (1Ki_22:24; Isa_58:4; Mat_5:39; Luk_22:64; 1Co_4:11)

A picture of religious impostors.

ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face." This verse suggests five things concerning religious impostors.

I THEY ARE TYRANNIC. "For ye suffer bear if a man bring you into bondage." The reference is undoubtedly to those described in ver. 13, who were false teachers in Corinth. They were enslaving the souls of men with their dogmas and rites. False teaching always makes men spiritual serfs. Heathens are slaves to their priest, fanatics are slaves to their leader, papists are slaves to their pope. True teaching makes men free men. Spiritual bondage is infinitely worse than physical or political. A man"s body may be in chains, yet he may be free in spirit; but if his spirit is enslaved, he himself is in captivity. The work of a false teacher is always to subdue souls to himself; the work of the true, to win souls to Christ. Even conventional Christianity is enslaving.

II THEY ARE RAPACIOUS. "If a man devour you." False teachers devour widows" houses. They teach for money, turn temples and churches into shops. They shear the sheep instead of feeding them. Greed is their inspiration.

III THEY ARE CRAFTY. "If a man take of you taketh you captive." The expression "of you" is not in the original. The idea to me seems to be if a man takes you in, deceives and entraps you. This is just whatreligious impostors do they "take men in," they cajole men, and make them their dupes.

IV THEY ARE ARROGANT. "If a man exalt himself." It is characteristic of false teachers that they assume great superiority. With this they endeavour to impress men by their costume, their bearing, and their pompous utterances. They arrogate a lordship over human souls.

V THEY ARE INSOLENT. "If a man smite you on the face." This is the last form of outrage; no greater insult could be offered to a man. The religious impostor has no respect for the rights and dignities of man as man. With his absurd dogmas and arrogances he is everlastingly smiting men on "their face," on their reason, their consciences, and their self-respect.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For ye suffer - Not only the folly, but the gross abuses, of those false apostles. If a man enslave you - Lord it over you in the most arbitrary manner. If he devour you - By his exorbitant demands; not - withstanding his boast of not being burdensome. If he take from you - By open violence. If he exalt himself - By the most unbounded self-commendation. If he smite you on the face - (A very possible case,) under pretense of divine zeal.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

For ye bear with a man, if he bringeth you into bondage, if he devoureth you, if he taketh you captive, if he exalteth himself, if he smiteth you on the face .

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. For ye suffer. They must “suffer fools gladly,” for they let men bring them into bondage to the law (Gal. 2:4); to devour their property by their greed for gain; to take them by the cunning snares laid for them; to exalt themselves unduly. Smite you on the face. This perhaps refers to an actual case of violence.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

20. ἀνέχεσθε γάρ. ‘Am I not right in saying that in your sublime wisdom you can be serenely tolerant of folly? For you put up with what is a great deal more intolerable than folly. You put up with tyranny, with extortion, with craftiness, with arrogance, with violence and insult. All this you bear with from my opponents. Surely you can bear with a little folly from me.’

καταδουλοῖ. ‘Reduce to abject slavery,’ as in Gal 2:4, the only other passage in which the compound is found in the N.T. Comp. Jer 15:4. Elsewhere in the LXX. we have the middle (Exo 1:14; Eze 29:18; &c.), which is more common in classical Greek, and might have been expected here. But perhaps S. Paul means that these false apostles were bringing the Corinthians into bondage, not to themselves, but to the yoke of the Law. So in Gal 2:4, where see Lightfoot. Comp. ἀρίστων ἁνδρῶν πατρίδα ἐλευθερούντων, Δολοβέλλα δὲ αὐτὴν καταδουλοῦτος ἑτέροις (Appian, B.C. IV. ix. 69).

κατεσθίει. As in Mar 12:40 and Luk 20:47, this probably refers to the avarice of the Judaizers in getting all that they could out of the Corinthians. For illustrations see Wetstein ad loc. and Mat 23:14. Comp. Gal 5:15 and οἱ κατέσθοντες τὸν λαόν μου (Psa 13:4). In Isa 9:15 καταπίνειν is used in a similar way; πλανῶσιν ὅπως καταπίνωσιν αὐτούς: comp. Ps. 34:25, 123:3.

λαμβάνει. Taketh you, i.e. in a snare, ‘catcheth you’: comp. δόλῳ ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον (2Co 12:16); οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν (Luk 5:5). This interpretation harmonizes with ἐργάται δόλιοι (2Co 11:13). ‘Take of you’ (A.V.), si quis stipendium accipit (Beza), is a bathos after ‘devour you.’

ἐπαίρεται. Uplifteth himself: see on 2Co 10:5. ‘Exalt’ should be kept for ὑψόω (2Co 11:10). The Judaizing leaders would be likely fastu efferri: comp. 2Co 3:1, 2Co 10:12.

εἰς πρόσωπον ὑμᾶς δέρει. This may be metaphorical for violent and insulting treatment (Mat 5:39). But such an outrage may actually have occurred (Mar 14:65; Act 23:2). S. Paul thought it necessary to direct both Timothy and Titus that a bishop must not be a ‘striker’ (1Ti 3:3; Tit 1:7). For the rhetorical repetition of εἰ comp. 1Ti 5:10: for the asyndeton comp. 2Co 11:13, 2Co 12:10.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20.] for (proof that they could have no objection to so innocent a man as a fool, when they tolerated such noxious ones as are adduced) ye endure (them), if (as is the case) one brings you into slavery (the mere abstract act as regarded them, not the man’s own selfish view, being in the Apostle’s mind, the active, not the middle, is used. Thucyd. iii. 70, uses the active similarly: λέγοντες τοὺς Ἀθηναίους τὴν Κέρκυραν καταδουλοῦν. But the enslaving understood, is to the man himself, not to the law:—see ref. Gal.), if one devours you (by exaction on your property, see reff. Mk. L. So Hom. Od. γ. 315: μή τοι κατὰ πάντα φάγωσι κτήματα, and Plaut., Ter., and Quintil., in Wetstein), if one catches you (as with a snare, ref.: not, ‘takes from you’), if one uplifts himself (so freq. in Thucyd., e.g. vi. 11, χρὴ μὴ πρὸς τὰς τύχας τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπαίρεσθαι. See other examples in Wetst.), if one smites you on the face (in insult, see 1Ki 22:24: Mat 5:39; Luk 22:64; Act 23:2. This is put as the climax of forbearance. “That such violence might literally be expected from the rulers of the early Christian society, is also implied in the command in 1Ti 3:3, Tit 1:7, that the ‘bishop’ is not to be ‘a striker.’ Even so late as the seventh century the council of Braga (c. 7), a.d. 675, orders that no bishop at his will and pleasure shall strike his clergy, lest he lose the respect which they owe him.” Stanley).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. ἀνἑχεσθε γάρ. ‘I am justified in saying that you are too magnificent to be impatient with folly, for you tolerate what is far worse than folly. You tolerate tyranny, extortion, craftiness, arrogance, violence, and insult. All of this, when it comes from my enemies. Can you not tolerate a little folly in me?’ He would gladly always speak κατὰ κύριον (v. 17), as ministers of Christ should do; but the outrageous conduct of others does not allow him to do this. What follows is a description of the way in which the Judaizing teachers treat the Corinthians. Cf. ἁρπαζόμενοι γοῦν ἀνέχεσθε, καὶ τυπτόμενοι σιωπᾶτε, καὶ τοῖς φονευομένοις οὐδὲ ἐπιστένει τις ἀναφανδόν (Joseph. B.J. iv. iii. 10).

καταδουλοῖ. ‘Reduce to abject slavery,’ as in Gal 2:4, the only other passage in N.T. where this compound occurs, and where, as here and Jer 15:14, the act. is used. Elsewhere in LXX the midd, is used, but with a different meaning. The midd. means ‘enslave to oneself,’ the act. means ‘enslave to some other power.’ This is clearly the meaning in Jer 15:14 and Gal 2:4; and in Gal 2:4 the power to which the false brethren would enslave the Galatians is the Mosaic Law (Act 15:10). This may well be the meaning here. These sham apostles wanted to impose on the Corinthians the bondage of the Law; cf. Gal 5:1. This, however, cannot be pressed as certain, for although the midd. is commonly used of enslaving to oneself, the act. is sometimes used in this sense, which harmonizes well with the context and makes a telling contrast to the Apostle’s; own attitude towards the Corinthians; he is their δοῦλος (4:5), not they his δοῦλοι. He had no wish κυριεύειν αὐτῶν τῆς πίστεως (1:24), or δολοῦν τὸ λὸγον τοῦ θεοῦ (4:2): he preached God’s Gospel to them without pay (11:7), because it was not their possessions but themselves that he desired to win (12:14). All this was the very opposite of what the false apostles did. They were domineering, grasping, crafty, arrogant, and violent.

κατεσθίει. ‘Devour you’ by claiming maintenance and accepting all that was offered them, as the Scribes did with pious widows (Mar 12:40; Luk 20:47). Cf. οἱ κατέσθοντες τὸν λαόν μου βρώσει ἄρτον (Pro 13:4). Plautus and Terence use comedo in this sense; cf. καταπίνω (Pro 1:12, Pro 1:21:20; Isa 9:15). The description of the false teachers in Rom 16:18 and Php 3:19 is similar.

λαμβάνει. ‘Catch you’ as birds in a snare, or fish with bait; cf. δόλῳ ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον (12:16); οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν (Luk 5:5). Field supports AV in translating ‘take of you,’ and the word might mean this. Beza has si quis stipendium accipit, but it is rather a bathos after ‘enslave and devour.’ ‘Prey upon you’ combines the two ideas.

ἐπαίρεται. ‘Uplift himself,’ ‘give himself airs’; cf. 10:5. AV and RV. have ‘exalt’ for this verb and also for ὑψόω (v. 7); Vulg. has exaltemini there and extollitur here. ‘Lord it over you’ seems to be the meaning.

εἰς πρόσωπον ὑμᾶς δέρει. The conduct of the Sanhedrin in the case of Christ (Mar 14:65) and of St Paul (Act 23:2) shows that this may possibly be understood literally; and this view is confirmed when we find St Paul directing both Timothy (1Ti 3:3) and Titus (Tit 1:7) that a bishop must not be a striker. Cf. 1Ki 22:24. But it is equally possible that the expression is figurative, like ‘fly in one’s face’; cf. Mat 5:39; Job 16:10; Lam 3:30; Mic 5:1. ‘If he outrageously insult you’ would then be the meaning. That the Judaizers treated the Corinthians with contumely because they were Gentiles is possible, but we cannot make any of the expressions in this verse refer definitely to that. For a similar repetition of εἰ (five times in each) see 1Ti 5:10.

εἰς πρόσωτον ὑμᾶς (א B D * E F G P d e f g r Vulg.) rather than ὑμᾶς εἰς πρ. D2 K M, Arm. Goth.).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bringeth you into bondage [καταδουλοι] . Only here and Gal 2:4, where it is used of the efforts of the Jewish party to bring the christian Church under the ceremonial law. Compare Gal 5:1.

Devour [κατεσθιει] . Your property. Compare Mt 23:14.

Take [λαμβανει] . A. V. supplies of you, evidently with reference to property, which has already been touched upon in devour. The meaning is to take as a prey, as Luk 5:5.

Exalteth himself [επαιρεται] . As ch. 10 5. It is noticeable that these are the only two instances out of nineteen in the New Testament where the word is used figuratively.

Smite you on the face. The climax of insult. Compare Mt 5:39; Luk 22:64; Act 23:2. Also the injunction to a bishop not to be a striker, 1Ti 3:3; Tit 1:7. Stanley notes the decree of the Council of Braga, A. D. 675, that no bishop, at his will and pleasure, shall strike his clergy.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.