2 Corinthians 11:28

2Co 11:28-31. Besides those things that are without — These external troubles which I have mentioned; that which cometh upon me daily — Greek, η επισυστασις μου η καθ’ ημεραν, that which rusheth upon me daily, or that which is my daily pressure. The expression denotes a crowd of people surrounding and pressing upon a person, in order to bear him down, and trample upon him; an idea which is elegantly applied to his cares respecting the churches; crowding in upon his mind, and ready to overwhelm it. And this is very properly mentioned here among his sufferings, being certainly not one of the least of them, as may be easily inferred from the account which he has given in this and in his former epistle, of the exceeding grief which the errors and irregularities of the single church of Corinth caused him. In saying, the care of all the churches, he signified he was deeply concerned for the prosperity, even of those which he had not seen in the flesh. St. Peter himself could not have said this in so strong a sense. Who is weak — Namely, in grace, and therefore oppressed with a variety of doubts and fears, and cast down; and I am not weak — By sympathy, as well as by condescension, manifested in complying with their weakness. Who is offended — Hindered in or turned out of the good way; and I burn not — With zeal and desire to restore him: or am not pained, as though I had fire in my bosom? So that he had not only the care of the churches, but every person therein. If I must needs glory — And I am heartily sorry that any such necessity is laid upon me; I will glory of the things that concern my infirmities — In my sufferings for Christ, of various kinds, such as I have specified, (see 2Co 12:10,) sufferings which show my weakness, and his strength, and therefore humble me, and exalt him. And in what I have said, I have only spoken the exact truth, without reigning or aggravating any one circumstance; for God knoweth that I lie not — Even that eternal Majesty of heaven and earth; who is blessed for evermore. This clause is added to increase the solemnity of his appeal to God for the truth of what he had said, and was going further to say; and that not only concerning his deliverance at Damascus, but concerning the visions and revelations of the Lord, to be mentioned in the next chapter.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.

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

2Co 11:28. Χωρὶς, beside) The particle serves the purpose of connection.—τῶν παρεκτὸς) It is thus he terms external labours and troubles. Hitherto he describes his own; he now refers to those of others, that had been shared with him.—ἡ) The Apposition of the oblique and nominative case, such as that of Basil of Seleucia, ὢ φωνῆς, σωτηρίας πηγή: comp. note on Chrys. de Sacerd. p. 504.—ἐπισύστασίς μου, that which cometh upon me) The LXX. often use the verb ἐπισυνίστημι, and the verbal noun ἐπισύστασις, of the sedition of Korah and his associates: comp. Act 24:12. Here therefore we remark the disorderly conduct of those, who troubled Paul by the perverseness of their doctrine or life; for example, Gal 6:17.—καθʼ ἡμέραν, daily) A large extent of time; and of place, in the words, of all.—πασῶν, of all) This is more modest than if he had said πάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας, of the whole church. Of all, of those even, to whom I have not come, Col 2:1. Peter could not have alleged that of himself in an equal degree.[81]

[81] Since Peter was the apostle of the circumcision peculiarly. Whereas Paul was, of all the numerous churches of the uncircumcision.—ED.

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

2Co_11:28. Apart from that which occurs beside (beside what had been mentioned hitherto), for me the daily attention is the care for all the churches.[340] He will not adduce more particulars than he has brought forward down to ΓΥΜΝΌΤΗΤΙ, but will simply mention further a general fact, that he has daily to bear anxiety for all the churches. On ΧΩΡΊς with the genitive: apart from, see Stallbaum, ad Plat. Apol. S. p. 35 C. The emphasis is on πασῶν. Theodoret: ΠΆΣΗς ΓᾺΡ Τῆς ΟἸΚΟΥΜΈΝΗς ἘΝ ἘΜΑΥΤῷ ΠΕΡΙΦΈΡΩ ΤῊΝ ΜΈΡΙΜΝΑΝ. Nevertheless, this ΠΑΣῶΝ is not, with Bellarmine and other Roman Catholic writers, as well as Ewald et al., to be limited merely to Pauline churches, nor is it to be pressed in its full generality, but rather to be taken as a popular expression for his unmeasured task. He has to care for all. Chrysostom, Theophylact, and others attach χωρ. τ. παρ to what precedes, and separate it from what follows by a full stop; but this only makes the latter unnecessarily abrupt. Luther, Castalio, Bengel, and many others, including Flatt, Billroth (but uncertainly), and Olshausen, consider Ἡ ἘΠΊΣΤΑΣΙς Κ.Τ.Λ. (or, according to their reading: Ἡ ἘΠΙΣΎΣΤΑΣΙς Κ.Τ.Λ.) as an abnormal apposition to ΤῶΝ ΠΑΡΕΚΤΌς: not to mention what still occurs besides, namely, etc. This is unnecessarily harsh, and ΧΩΡῚς ΤῶΝ ΠΑΡΕΚΤΌς would withal only be an empty formul.

ΤᾺ ΠΑΡΕΚΤΌς is: quae praeterea eveniunt,[341] not, as Beza and Bengel, following the Vulgate, hold: quae extrinsecus eum adoriebantur (Beza), so that either what follows is held to be in apposition (Bengel: previously he has described the proprios labores, now he names the alienos secum communicatos), or τῶν παρεκτός is referred to what precedes, and what follows now expresses the inward cares and toils (Beza, comp. Erasmus). Linguistic usage is against this, for παρεκτός never means extrinsecus, but always beside, in the sense of exception. See Mat_5:32; Act_26:29; Aq. Deu_1:36; Test. XII. Patr. p. 631; Geopon. xiii. 15. 7; Etym. M. p. 652, 18. This also in opposition to Ewald: without the unusual things, with which what is daily is then put in contrast (comp. Calvin). Hofmann, following the reading ἡ ἐπισύστασίς μου, would, instead of ΤῶΝ ΠΑΡΕΚΤΌς, write ΤῶΝ ΠΑΡʼ ἘΚΤΌς, which is, in his view, masculine, and denotes those coming on to the apostle from without (the Christian body), whose attacks on his doctrine he must continually withstand. With this burden he associates the care of all the many churches, which lie continually on his soul. These two points are introduced by χωρίς, which is the adverbial besides. This new interpretation (even apart from the reading ἐπισύστασις, which is to be rejected on critical grounds) cannot be accepted, (1) because ΟἹ ΠΑΡʼ ἘΚΤΌς, for which Paul would have written ΟἹ ἜΞΩ (1Co_5:12; Col_4:5; 1Th_4:12) or ΟἹ ἜΞΩΘΕΝ (1Ti_3:7), is an expression without demonstrable precedent, since even Greek writers, while doubtless using ΟἹ ἘΚΤΌς, extranei (Polyb. ii. 47. 10, v. 37. 6; comp. Ecclus. Praef. I.), do not use οἱ παρʼ ἐκτός; (2) because the two parts of the verse, notwithstanding their quite different contents, stand abruptly (without ΚΑΊ, or ΜῈΝ … ΔΈ, or other link of connection) side by side, so that we have not even Ἡ ΔῈ ΜΈΡΙΜΝΆ ΜΟΥ (overagainst the ἘΠΙΣΎΣΤΑΣΊς ΜΟΥ) instead of the bare Ἡ ΜΈΡΙΜΝΑ; and (3) because the adverbial ΧΩΡΊς m the sense assumed is foreign to the N. T., and even in the classical passages in question (see from Thucydides, Krüger on i. 61. 3) it does not mean praeterea generally, but more strictly scorsim, separatim, specially and taken by itself.[342] See Ellendt, Lex. Soph. II. p. 974. But the two very general categories, which it is to introduce, would not suit this sens.

ἡ ἐπίστασις] may mean either: the daily halting (comp. Xen. Anab. ii. 4. 26; Polyb. xiv. 8. 10; Soph. Ant 225: πολλὰς γὰρ ἔσχον φροντίδων ἐπιστάσεις, multas moras deliberationibus effectas), or: the daily attention.[343] See Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 527; Schweigh. Lex. Polyb. p. 265. This signification is most accordant with the context on account of the following ἡ μέριμνα κ.τ.λ. Rückert, without any sanction of linguistic usage, makes it: the throng towards me, the concourse resorting to me on official business.[344] So also Osiander and most older and more recent expositors explain the Recepta ἐπισύστασίς μου or ἐπισύστ. μοι. But likewise at variance with usage, since ἐπισύστασις is always (even in Num_26:9) used in the hostile sense: hostilis concursio, tumultus, as it has also been taken here by Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Beza,[345] Bengel, and others. See Act_24:12, and the passages in Wetstein and Loesner, p. 230.

The μοί, which, in the interpretation of ἘΠΙΣΤ. as concourse, would have to be taken as appropriating dative (Bernhardy, p. 89), is, according to our view of ἐπίστ., to be conceived as dependent on the ἘΣΤΙ to be supplied.

[340] Accordingly the comma after ἡμέραν is to be deleted. If μέριμνα κ. τ. λ. be (as is the usual view) taken as a clause by itself, the ἐστί to be supplied is not a copula, but: exists. But according to the right reading and interpretation, ἡ ἐπιστ. μοι, as an independent point, would thus be too general.

[341] The Armenian version gives instead of παρεκτός; ἄλλων θλίψεων. A correct interpretation. Chrysostom exaggerates: πλείονα τὰ παραλειφθέντα τῶν ἀπαριθμηθέντων.

[342] So, too, in the passage, Thuc. ii. 31. 2, adduced in Passows Lexicon by Rost and by Hofmann, where χωρίς further introduces a separate army contingent, which is counted by itself.

[343] Gregory of Nazianzus has ἐπιστασία, which is to be regarded as a good gloss. See Lobeck, l.c.; Kühner, ad Xen. Mem. i. 5. 2, var.

[344] ἐπίστασις does not once mean the pressing on (active), the crowding. In 2Ma_6:3 (in opposition to Grimm in loc.), ἡ ἐπίστασις τῆς κακίας is the setting in, the coming on, i.e. the beginning of misfortune (Polyb. i. 12. 6, ii. 40. 5, al.). In Dion. Halicarn. vi. 31, the reading is to be changed into ἐπίθεσιν. In Polyb. i. 26. 12, it means the position. Nevertheless, Buttm. neut. Gr. p. 156 [E. T. 180], agrees with Rückert.

[345] Chrys.: οἱ θόρυβοι, αἱ ταραχαί, αἱ πολιορκίαι τῶν δήμων καὶ τῶν πόλεων ἔφοδοι. Beza renders the whole verse: Absque iis, quae extrinsecus eveniunt, urget agmen illud in me quotidie consurgens, i.e. solicitudo de omnibus ecclesiis. Comp. Ewald: the daily onset of a thousand troubles and difficulties on him. Bengel: obturbatio illorum, qui doctrinae vitaeve perversitate Paulo molestiam exhibebant, v. gr. Gal_6:17.

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 11:28 . χωρὶς τῶν παρ . κ . τ . λ .: besides the things which I omit (see reff., and cf. Heb 11:32 ; the A.V. “those things that are without” = vulg. quae sunt extrinsecus , is wrong), there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches (see on 2Co 8:18 ). ἐπισύστασις of the rec. text means a combination for hostile purposes, and is used of Korah’s rebellion in Num 16:40 ; Num 26:9 , in which latter place we have the same textual variants as here ( cf. also: 1Es 5:73 ). This may be the true reading, both here and at Act 24:12 , for the syllable συ might readily drop out in transcription. If it be adopted here it would refer to the cabals of the Apostle’s adversaries = “the daily combination against me,” and would thus indicate a trial distinct from “the care of all the churches,” which is next mentioned. But, although this gives a good sense, we prefer to read ἐπίστασις as better supported both here and at Act 24:12 (the only places of its occurrence in N.T.). Polybius uses the word as = “attention,” “close observation,” but this will not suit Act 24:12 . It is found in 2Ma 6:3 as = “visitation” or “pressure,” and the latter rendering seems best to satisfy the context here. We have therefore followed the Revisers in adopting the Vulgate rendering instantia = “that which presseth,” and in taking ἡ μέριμνα κ . τ . λ . as in apposition with ἡ ἐπίστασις .

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

He addeth this in conclusion further, that the Corinthians might be ashamed to despise him, upon whose care almost all Churches depended, as it was plainly seen by experience.

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

without--"Beside" trials falling on me externally, just recounted, there is "that which cometh upon me (literally, the impetuous concourse to me of business; properly, a crowd rising up against one again and again, and ready to bear him down), the care of all the churches" (including those not yet seen in the flesh, Col 2:1): an internal and more weighty anxiety. But the oldest manuscripts for "that which cometh," read, "the pressure": "the pressing care-taking" or "inspection that is upon me daily." ALFORD translates, "Omitting what is BESIDES"; namely, those other trials besides those recounted. But the Vulgate, ESTIUS, and BENGEL, support English Version.

the care--The Greek implies, "my anxious solicitude for all the churches."

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 28. Beside those things that are without] Independently of all these outward things, I have innumerable troubles and mental oppressions.

Which cometh upon me] Ἡ επισυατασις· This continual press of business; this insurrection of cases to be heard, solved, and determined, relative to the doctrine, discipline, state, persecution, and supply of all the Churches.

All his perils were little in comparison of what he felt relative to the peace, government, and establishment of all the Churches among the Gentiles; for as he was the apostle of the Gentiles, the government of all the Churches among these fell in some sort on him, whether they were of his own planting or of the planting of others. See Col 2:1. None but a conscientious minister, who has at heart the salvation of souls, can enter into the apostle's feelings in this place.

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

28. Besides those things that are without “Besides those things,” says he, “which come upon me from all sides, and are as it were extraordinary, what estimate must be formed of that ordinary burden that constantly presses upon me — the care that I have of all the Churches.” The care of all the Churches he appropriately calls his ordinary burden. For I have taken the liberty of rendering ἐπισύστασιν in this way, as it sometimes means — whatever presses upon us.

Whoever is concerned in good earnest as to the Church of God, stirs up himself and bears a heavy burden, which presses upon his shoulders. What a picture we have here of a complete minister, embracing in his anxieties and aims not one Church merely, or ten, or thirty, but all of them together, so that he instructs some, confirms others, exhorts others, gives counsel to some, and applies a remedy to the diseases of others! Now from Paul’s words we may infer, that no one can have a heartfelt concern for the Churches, without being harassed with many difficulties; for the government of the Church is no pleasant occupation, in which we may exercise ourselves agreeably and with delight of heart, but a hard and severe warfare, as has been previously mentioned, (2 Corinthians 10:4,) — Satan from time to time giving us as much trouble as he can, and leaving no stone unturned to annoy us.

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.

(28) That which cometh upon me daily . . .—The word so translated primarily signifies a “rush” or “tumult,” and is so used in Act_24:12. Here that meaning is excluded by the fact that perils of that nature had been already specified, and that he now manifestly speaks of something differing in kind as well as in degree. But there is, as our modern phraseology shows, such a thing as a “rush” of business almost as trying as the “ugly rush” of a crowd, and that is manifestly what he means here. The daily visits of inquirers, the confessions of sin-burdened souls, the craving of perplexed consciences for guidance, the reference of quarrels of the household or the church to his arbitration as umpire, the arrival of messengers from distant churches, each with their tidings of good or evil—this is what we have to think of as present to St. Paul’s thoughts as the daily routine of his life; and the absence of any conjunction between the two clauses clearly points to the fact that, in his mind, “the care (or anxiety) of all the churches” was all but identical with the “rush” of which he had just spoken.

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

28. Besides those things that are without] The six principal English versions interpret this expression (1) of external trials, of which the Apostle has hitherto been speaking—“the thynges which out wardly happen unto me” (Tyndale). As the Apostle now begins to speak of inward troubles this rendering would seem quite natural. But Chrysostom (2) interprets it of things left out of the enumeration. And this interpretation is supported by the only two other passages in which the word occurs in the N. T., namely, Mat_5:32; Act_26:29. Cf. Heb_11:32. If this interpretation be followed, we must connect the words, not only with what follows, but with what precedes. ‘And besides a host of other things, which I cannot now mention, there is the daily pressure of anxiety arising from the Churches under my care.’

that which cometh upon me daily] There is a various reading here. If we follow the received text, which is that of the Peshito Syriac in the second century and is followed by Chrysostom, we must understand it of the daily concourse of troubles arising from this source. If we follow that which is proposed to be substituted for it, which is that of the Vulgate and of the most ancient MSS. (though it may not improbably have arisen from the copyist’s eye having passed from ΣΥ to ΣΤ), it must be rendered “that which presseth on me” (instantia, Vulgate; my daily instance, Rhemish). Tyndale, Cranmer and the Geneva render, I am combred dayly.

the care] Rather perhaps, the anxiety, as we speak of care in the abstract, the Greek word being derived from a verb signifying to part asunder, and implying that the mind is torn asunder as it were by conflicting emotions.

of all the churches] This must not perhaps be pressed (as Döllinger in his Last Age of the Church) so far as to assert that each Apostle considered himself individually responsible for the care of the whole Church of Christ. That there was some division of responsibility appears from Gal_2:7. St Paul probably means the care of all the Churches which he had planted, surely no inconsiderable burden.

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.

Who is weak, and I am not weak.... What church is so? or what particular believer is so? for he had not only the care of all the churches, but of all believers upon him; whoever was weak in the faith he was concerned for them, to instruct, establish, and strengthen them; and suited his discourses, reasonings, and language, to their capacity, that they might understand him, and take in right notions of things: or whoever was of a weak and scrupulous conscience about things indifferent, and fearful of using them lest they should sin in so doing, he was cautious of offending them, or doing anything by which their consciences should be defiled, and their peace be broken: or whoever was afflicted, either in body or mind, he sympathized and bore a part with them:

who is offended, and I burn not? whoever was stumbled and made to fall by anything he said or did, or by the words and actions of others, it gave him sensible pain, it made him very uneasy; he was as one in a flame, all on fire, full of grief and trouble till the cause of the offence was removed, and the person offended made easy and restored; the word here used answers to the Hebrew word used in Job 30:25 where it is said, "was not my soul grieved for the poor?" which Mr. Broughton renders, "did not my soul burn for the poor?" Now by all this which the apostle did and suffered, by all actions and sufferings, care and sympathy, he fully appeared to be a true and faithful minister of Christ, and abundantly more than the false apostles, who could produce none of these things as testimonies in their favour.

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

28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

Ver. 28. That which cometh, &c.] Quasi agmine facto, et repetitis vicibus, His care came upon him, as an armed man, and gave him no rest or respite. The Greek word επισυστασις holds out the cumber; he had as it were all care numbered, and mustered together, and that with anxiety, μεριμνα, with the same solicitude that a man hath about business of his own: yet held he out his whole race without cessation or respiration.

The care of all the Churches] Calvin was not otherwise affected toward the Churches though far remote, than if he had borne them upon his shoulders, saith Beza. He often sighed out, Usque quo Domine, over the poor afflicted Churches of Christ, with the miseries whereof he was much more affected than with any of his own private miseries. I could not but love the man (said Theodosius of Ambrose) for that, while he lived, and when he died, he took more care for the Church than for himself, Magis de ecclesiarum statu, quam de suis periculis angebatur.

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.

Besides those things that are without - In addition to these external trials, these trials pertaining to the body, I have mental trials and anxieties resulting from the necessary care of all the churches, But on the meaning of these words commentators are not agreed. Rosenmuller supposes that the phrase means “besides those things that come from other sources,” “that I may omit other things.” Beza, Erasmus, Bloomfield, and some others suppose that the passage means those things out of the regular routine of his office. Doddridge, “besides foreign affairs.” Probably the sense is, “Apart from the things beside” (Χωρὶς τῶν παρεκτὸς Chōris tōn parektos); “not to mention other matters; or if other matters should be laid aside, there is this continually rushing anxiety arising from the care of all the churches.” That is, this would be enough in itself. Laying aside all that arises from hunger, thirst, cold, etc., this continual care occupies my mind and weighs upon my heart.

That which cometh upon me daily - There is great force in the original here. The phrase rendered “that which cometh upon me” means properly, “that which rushes upon me.” The word (ἐπισύστασις episustasis) means properly a concourse, a crowd, hence, a tumult; and the idea here is, that these cares rushed upon him, or pressed upon him like a crowd of people or a mob that bore all before it. This is one of Paul’s most energetic expressions, and denotes the incessant anxiety of mind to which he was subject.

The care of all the churches - The care of the numerous churches which he had established, and which needed his constant supervision. They were young; many of them were feeble; many were made up of heterogeneous materials; many composed of Jews and Gentiles mingled together, with conflicting prejudices, habits, preferences; many of them were composed of those who had been gathered from the lowest ranks of life; and questions would be constantly occurring relating to their order and discipline in which Paul would feel a deep interest, and which would naturally be referred to him for decision. Besides this, they had many trials. They were persecuted, and would suffer much. In their sufferings Paul would feel deep sympathy, and would desire, as far as possible, to afford them relief. In addition to the churches which he had planted, he would feel an interest in all others, and doubtless many cases would be refered to him as an eminent apostle for counsel and advice. No wonder that all this came rushing on him like a tumultuous assembly ready to overpower him.

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

My daily instance. The labours that come in, and press upon me every day. (Challoner)

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).

By the things that are without, the apostle meaneth either those evils which happened to him from persons that had nto relation to the Christian church, but were persons without, ( as the phrase is used, 1Co 5:13), or else such kinds of troubles and afflictions as very little influenced his mind, but only affected his outward man: such were his labours, travels, journeyings, imprisonment, stripes before mentioned.

Beside these (he saith) there lay upon him an inward care and solicitude for

all the Christian churches; and this was a daily care. For an apostle differed from an ordinary pastor, not only in his immediate call from Christ, but also in his work; there lay an obligation upon such to go up and down preaching the gospel, and they further had, both a power, and also an obligation, to superintend all other churches, and to direct the affairs of them relating to order and government: and thereupon they were mightily concerned about their doing well or ill.

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

28. Are without—Are outside this list of physical trials, and which are outside my proper apostolic endurances.

That… daily—The onslaught, or rush, upon me daily; namely, the distracting care of all. The word care has the same Greek as the word thought in Mat_6:25, where see note.

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

Those things that are without. The adverb thus rendered parektos only occurs in Mat_5:32; Act_26:29. It may either mean "trials that come to me from external and extraneous sources (quae extrinsecus accedunt) or things in addition to these (praeterea), which I here leave unmentioned." The latter meaning is (as St. Chrysostom saw) almost certainly the correct one. That which cometh upon me. The word thus rendered is either episustasis (J, K), which means "hostile attack" or "tumult," as we talk of "a rush of trouble or business;" or epistasis (a, B, D, E, F, G), which may imply "halting, lingering thoughts; "attention," and so "anxiety". (comp. Act_24:12, where there is the same various reading) Of all the Churches. No doubt he is thinking of his own Churches, the Churches of the Gentiles. (Col_2:1)

Anxiety for the Churches.

Bodily labour and even suffering are sometimes felt to be less oppressive than mental anxiety and care. The Apostle Paul was familiar with all alike; and in his case a peculiarly sensitive and sympathetic nature caused him to feel more keenly and constantly than others might have done the pressure of daily anxiety for the welfare of the converts he had made and the Churches he had founded.

I THE REASONS FOR ANXIETY WITH REGARD TO THE CHURCHES.

1. Their immaturity. They had been in existence but a few years, and weresubject to the natural disadvantages of youth and inexperience. They needed diligent watching and tender, fostering care.

2. Their exposure to the insidious efforts of false teachers. Some of thesesought to lead the Christians of the first age back into Judaism, others strove to introduce licence and lawlessness.

3. Their constantly recurring needs. Some needed the visits of evangelistsor the appointment of pastors. Others needed the instructions or counsels which circumstances might render appropriate.

II THE PRACTICAL PROMPTINGS OF APOSTOLIC ANXIETY. We see the evidences of Paul"s sincere solicitude for the Churches in:

1. His frequent visits, by which he brought his personal influence to bearupon those whose welfare he sought and who naturally looked to him for help.

2. His Epistles, full of clear statement, convincing reasoning, earnestpersuasion, and faithful warning.

3. His selection and appointment of devoted fellow labourers to assist him in the superintendence and edification of the youthful communities.

4. His fervent prayers, which abounded on behalf of all in whose spiritualwell being he was interested.

III THE PROFITABLE LESSONS OF APOSTOLIC ANXIETY.

1. A general lesson of mutual interest and sympathy. Who can read thislanguage without feeling to what an extent it enforces the scriptural precept? not every man upon his own things, but every man also upon the things of others.

2. A special lesson of mutual helpfulness as the duty and privilege of allwho occupy positions of influence and authority in Christ"s Church. Some forms of Church government tend rather to isolate Christian communities than to draw them together. This tendency may be happily counteracted by compliance with the precept implicitly contained in this declaration of the apostle. T.

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

Beside the things which are from without - Which I suffer on the account of others; namely, the care of all the churches - A more modest expression than if he had said, the care of the whole church. All - Even those I have not seen in the flesh. St. Peter himself could not have said this in so strong a sense.

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

The apostle’s burden of outward troubles was discovered before: His burden of inward care is declared now. Besides, those things which were afflicting to him from without, the care and business of all the new-planted churches was daily upon his heart and hand; besides all his bodily labours by journeying and travelling incessantly from place to place, his solicitous care and thoughtfulness of mind, for the prosperity and happiness of all the churches of Christ, both near and afar off, was great and pressing; the holy man felt as much by sympathy as he did by sense. Many were the personal troubles which he had felt, but more were the churches troubles of which he had feeling; concerning which, he thus expresses himself in the next verse:

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches . [Besides the things which I have already mentioned--trials which come from external circumstances--there are others which attack me daily; I mean the wranglings, disputes, backslidings and apostasies of all the churches which are constantly brought to my attention that I may instruct, arbitrate or discipline according as the cases may demand. This verse may also be taken to mean that there were trials other than those mentioned, which came upon Paul from without.]

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.

28–31. Besides those things that are without. His physical sufferings and labors were not all. There was constant care and anxiety for the churches.

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.

28. ἐπίστασις (אBDFG) rather than ἐπισύστασις (KLMP); and μοι rather than μου (א3DKLMP).

28. χωρὶς τῶν παρεκτός. Beside those things that are without: Praeter illa, quae extrinsecus sunt. But can τὰ παρεκτός mean this? (1) Assuming with both A.V. and R.V. that this meaning is possible and correct, then the Apostle classes his sufferings in two groups, those which are external, which he has mentioned, and those which are internal, which he is about to mention. (2) Again, τῶν παρεκτός may be masculine; besides those persons that are without, who attack from the outside. But, had this been his meaning, he would have written οἱ ἔξω (1Co 5:12-13; Col 4:5; 1Th 4:12) or οἱ ἔξωθεν (1Ti 3:7; Joseph. B. J. IV. iii. 10; comp. Mar 4:11). And would he not similarly have written τὰ ἔξω or τὰ ἔξωθεν for ‘those things that are without’? (3) Perhaps τὰ παρεκτός might mean ‘those things that come out of course (R.V. marg. 2), which are unusual’: but it is not a natural expression for such a meaning. (4) But παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας (Mat 5:32) and παρεκτὸς τῶς δεσμῶν (Act 26:29) seem to show that it is the idea of exception (παρά, 2Co 11:24) rather than of externality (ἐκτός, 2Co 12:2; 1Co 6:18) which is predominant, an idea which ἐκτός also sometimes has (1Co 15:27; Act 26:22). So that τὰ παρεκτός probably means those things which are besides these, viz. the things which I omit (R.V. marg. 1). The purport therefore of the clause is, besides the things which I do not mention, there is &c. This is Chrysostom’s interpretation (τὰ παραλειφθέντα): but he goes beyond the text in saying that the omitted things are more than those which have been enumerated. If this be adopted, the Apostle makes three classes of sufferings, those which he has mentioned, those which he omits, and those which he is about to mention. In the LXX. παρεκτός does not occur, except as a discredited variant in Lev 23:38. Aquila has it Deu 1:36. In both cases the meaning is ‘except,’ where the LXX. has πλήν. Comp. Test. XII. Patr. Zabulon i. For χωρίς = ‘besides’ comp. Mat 14:21; Mat 15:38: also χωρὶς δὲ χρυσίου ἀσήμου καὶ ἀργυρίου (Thuc. II. xiii. 3).

ἡ ἐπίστασίς μοι ἡ καθʼ ἡμέραν. See critical note. That which presseth upon me daily; or the daily onset upon me. Comp. Act 24:12, where, as here, LP and other inferior authorities read ἐπισύστασις (Num 16:40 [Num 17:5], Num 26:9), without great difference of meaning. For ἐπίστασις comp. δυσχερὴς ἡ ἐπίστασις τῆς κακίας (2Ma 6:3). The rendering ‘onset’ is probably not too strong; concursus in me (d); incursus in me (Augustine); urget agmen illud in me quotidie consurgens (Beza). S. Paul uses strong language, as ἐσύλησα (2Co 11:8), καθαιροῦντες πᾶν ὕψωμα, and αἰχμαλωτίζοντες πᾶν νόημα (2Co 10:5) show. Comp. hos profligatorum hominum quotidianos impetus (Cic. pro Arch. vi.). The reading μοι is decisive for the rendering ‘onset, rush, pressure,’ rather than ‘observation, attention.’ In classical Greek ἐπίστασις means ‘a stopping for rest, a halt’ (Xen. Anab. II. iv. 26); or ‘a stopping for thought, attention,’ τοῦτό γε αὐτὸ ἄξιον ἐπιστάσεως (Arist. Phys. II. iv. 8). A belief that ‘attention’ was the meaning here may have produced the reading μον: the dat. μοι comes from the idea of ‘onset.’ But ‘my daily attentiveness’ is a poor substitute for ‘the daily onset upon me.’ The latter means the ceaseless appeals to him for help, advice, decisions of difficulties or disputes, as well as objurgatio illorum, qui doctrinae vitaeque perversitate Paulo molestiam exhibebant (Bengel).

ἡ μέριμνα πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν. My anxiety for all the Churches. For μέριμνα, the care which divides and distracts the mind, comp. Mat 13:22 = Mar 4:19 = Luk 8:14, and Luk 21:34. It is the care which an anxious person feels, not that which a protector affords. Hence it is not used of God, who cannot feel anxious: note the change of wording 1Pe 5:7. ‘All the Churches’ is a colloquial expression to mark the immensity of the sphere which the anxiety embraces. The πασῶν need not be limited to the Churches which S. Paul founded, or pressed to imply that, as an Apostle, he had jurisdiction over the whole of Christendom: comp. 2Co 8:18; 1Co 7:17. The saying has been quoted in defence of a bishop holding more than one see.

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.

28.] He passes from particulars, omitting others which might have been specified, to the weight of apostolic care and sympathy which was on him. Not to mention those (afflictions) which are besides (these) (the Vulg, E. V., Beza, Estius, Bengel, understand παρεκτός as = ἔξωθεν, ‘the things that are without,’—a meaning which it never has, always implying exception, see reff.

Chrys., al,, join χωρ. τ. παρεκτ. with the foregoing, and put a period after παρεκτ., interpreting it rightly, πλείονα τὰ παραλειφθέντα τῶν ἀπαριθμηθέντων, Hom. xxv. p. 613:—but this seems to break the connexion too abruptly, besides giving a strange and unlikely termination to the long sentence preceding),—my care (ἐπίστ. may be either ‘delay,’ ‘hindrance,’ as Soph. Antig. 225, πολλὰς γὰρ εἶχον φροντίδος ἐπιστάσεις, and Xen. Anab. ii. 4. 26, ὅσον δʼ ἂν χρόνον τὸ ἡγούμενον τοῦ στρατεύματος ἐπιστήσειε, τοσοῦτον ἦν ἀνάγκη χρόνον διʼ ὅλου τοῦ στρατεύματος γίγνεσθαι τὴν ἐπίστασιν,—or, as very frequently in Polybius, see Schweigh., Lex. Polyb.,—‘care,’ ‘attention,’ ‘matter of earnest thought:’ e.g. τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅλων ἐπίστασιν κ. διάληψιν, viii. 30. 13, ‘curam summæ rei,’—οὐκ ἐκ παρέργου, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἐπιστάσεως, iii. 58. 3,—ἄγειν τινὰ εἰς ἐπίστασιν, ‘attentionem alicujus excitare,’ ix. 22. 17, al. The rec. reading, ἐπισύστασις (which has perhaps been introduced from ἐπίστασις not being understood (see digest here and on ref. Acts) and then μοι has been altered to μου as easier; but substantives derived from verbs which govern a dative are sometimes followed by this case, see Winer, edn. 6, § 31. 3, and Moulton’s note), can only mean concursus, in a hostile sense, see ref. and examples in Wetst.: and so Chrys. (see var. readd.), &c., take it here: others metaphorically, as Beza, ‘agmen illud in me quotidie consurgens, i.e. sollicitudo de omnibus ecclesiis:’—somewhat similarly De W.,—‘that which sets upon me, importunes me, daily:’ and so E.V. Stanley, with Est. al., renders it, ‘the concourse of people to see me:’ but this is doubtful, as departing from the hostile sense. In Beza’s sense, there is something Pauline in the rec., “the daily outbreak against me,” and the reading cannot be considered certain) day by day, (viz.) my anxiety for all the churches (the construction is an anacoluthon: not, as Meyer, ἐπίστ. the subject and μέριμνα the predicate, which would be a very flat sentence,—‘my daily care is, anxiety &c.,’ As it stands, ἡ ἐπίστ. is general, and ἡ μέριμν. particularizes it. Nothing need be supplied. ἡ ἐπίστ. occurs to the Apostle’s mind, and is uttered, in the nominative, the construction being disregarded).

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

28. χωρὶς τῶν παρεκτός. The meaning of this must remain uncertain, for the gender of τῶν is doubtful, and so also is the meaning of παρεκτός, and the different translations which these uncertainties render possible will all of them make sense in this context. But it is certain that the words are to be taken with what follows, and not as the close of the long sentence which precedes (Chrys.). We are fairly safe in assuming that τῶν is neuter; for if ‘those persons that are without,’ i.e. who assail me from the outside, had been the meaning, we should probably have had οἱ ἔξωθεν (1Ti 3:7; cf. Joseph. B.J. IV. iii., where τὸ μὲν τοῖς ἔξωθεν ὑπακούειν is opposed to (τὸ δὲ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἔκειν), or still more probably οἱ ἔξω (1Co 5:12, 1Co 5:13; Col 4:5; 1Th 4:12), an expression which seems to be of Rabbinical origin and came to mean all who were outside the Christian Church, whether heathen or Jews; cf. Mar 4:11. What then does τὰ παρεκτός mean? Probably not ‘those things which are without’ (AV, RV),* for which we should have had τὰ ἔξω or τὰ ἔξωθεν, but ‘those things which are besides these,’ viz. ‘the things which I omit’ (RV. marg. 1). Of the two halves of the compound word παρεκτός it is the παρά (v. 24) rather than the ἐκτός which dominates, the idea of exception rather than that of externality. But ἐκτός is used in the sense of ‘except’ or ‘besides’ (1Co 15:27; Act 26:22; Jdg 8:26, Jdg 8:20:15, Jdg 8:17; etc.). In LXX παρεκτός does not occur, except as a very questionable v.l. Lev 23:38; and Aquila has it Deu 1:36. But the meaning in both places is ‘except,’ LXX πλήν. In the Testaments (Zebulon 1:4) we have ‘I did not know that I sinned except in thought,’ παρεκτὸς ἐννοίας. These facts justify us in adopting as the rendering of τὰ παρεκτός ‘the things which I omit,’— τὰ παραλειφθέντα, as Chrysostom paraphrases the expression. The Apostle has mentioned a great many things; then he continues, ‘Besides the things which I do not mention, there is, etc.’ This makes good sense; but it is impossible to say how much he omits, though Chrysostom thinks that the half is not told.† The second rendering in RV. marg., ‘the things which come out of course,’ i.e. ‘exceptional things,’ is not probable. Such a meaning would probably have been expressed otherwise.

ἡ ἐπίστασίς μοι ἡ καθʼ ἡμέραν. If μου were the right reading, this might mean, ‘my daily observation,’ ‘my daily attentiveness.’ But μοι is firmly established, and thus the other meaning of ἐπίστασις becomes necessary, ‘that which presses (or rushes) upon me daily,’ ‘the daily onset upon me.’ See crit. note below. Augustine has incursus in me, and a concursus in me, which perhaps represents ἐπισύστασις μοι, although D reads ἐπίστασις μου. Ἐπισύστασις (Num 16:40 [17:5], 26:9, of the conspiracy of Korah) means ‘hostile combination,’ or ‘combined attack,’ and in that case ἡ μέριμνα πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν does not explain the preceding clause but states an additional cause of suffering. But both here and Act 24:12 ἐπίστασις is the better reading, and the word occurs nowhere else in N.T. The meaning ‘pressure’ or ‘onset’ is confirmed by 2 Macc. 6:3 δυσχερὴς ἡ ἐπίστασις τῆς κακίας, as also by such renderings as instantia (Vulg. here), concursus (Vulg. Act 24:12), and incursus; and with this rendering ἡ μερ. π. τ. ἐκκλ is probably epexegetic. But this is not certain; by ‘the daily pressure’ the Apostle may mean something different from anxiety about all the Churches. There were the criticisms and suspicions to which he was every day exposed, as also the demands that were made upon his time by unreasonable persons,—the pressing business of each day. ‘The concourse of people to see me’ is too definite.

ἡ μέριμνα πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν. ‘My anxiety for all the Churches.’ “This was the chief thing of all,” says Chrysostom, “that his soul was distracted, and his thoughts divided.”* Cf. Mar 4:19 = Mat 13:22 = Luk 8:14; also Luk 21:34. ‘Care’ in English is ambiguous; either that which anxious people feel, or that which considerate people bestow; see the Greek of 1Pe 5:7. Either meaning would suit this passage, and the second is often understood; but μέριμνα means the former, the anxiety which torments him. Therefore this does not mean that St Paul claimed jurisdiction over all Churches, whether founded by himself or not; he is not thinking of jurisdiction at all. But every Christian centre had claims on his thought and sympathy, those most of all of which he had intimate knowledge. The intercourse between the chief centres was fairly constant, he was frequently receiving information which gave him plenty to think about (1Co 1:11, 1Co 16:17), and anxiety about people generates care for them, when care is possible. This was specially the case with so sensitive a nature as that of St Paul. What he experienced went deep and moved him strongly. See Index IV.

ἐπίστασις (א B D F G 17) rather than ἐπισύστασις (K L M P). μοι (א* B F G 17) rather than μον (א3 D E K L M P).

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

Those things that are without [των παρεκτος] . Some explain, external calamities; others, the things which are left out in the enumeration, as Mt 5:32; Act 26:29. Better, the latter, so that the literal meaning is, apart from the things which are beside and outside my enumeration : or, as Alford, not to mention those which are beside these. The word does not occur in classical Greek, and no instance of its usage in the former sense occurs in the New Testament or in the Septuagint. See Rev., margin.

That which cometh upon me [επισυστασις] . Lit., a gathering together against. Both here and Act 24:12, the best texts read ejpistasiv onset. Rev., that which presseth upon me. "The crowd of cares."

Farrar remarks upon vers. 23 - 28, that it is "the most marvelous record ever written of any biography; a fragment beside which the most imperiled lives of the most suffering saints shrink into insignificance, and which shows us how fractional at the best is our knowledge of the details of St. Paul 's life." Eleven of the occurrences mentioned here are not alluded to in Acts.

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