2 Corinthians 5:12


(KJV) For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
(1611 KJV) For we commend not our selues againe vnto you, but giue you occasion to glory on our behalfe, that you may haue somewhat to answere them, which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
(1587 Geneva Bible) For we prayse not our selues againe vnto you, but giue you an occasion to reioyce of vs, that ye may haue to answere against them, which reioyce in the face, and not in the heart.
(1526 Tyndale) We prayse not oure selves agayne vnto you but geve you an occasion to reioyce of vs that ye maye have some what agaynst the whych reioyce in the face and not in the hert.

Counterfeit Versions
(AMP) We are not commending ourselves to you again, but we are providing you with an occasion and incentive to be [rightfully] proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who pride themselves on surface appearances [on the virtues they only appear to have], although their heart is devoid of them.
(CEB) We aren’t trying to commend ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us so that you could answer those who take pride in superficial appearance, and not in what is in the heart.
(CEV) We are not trying once more to brag about ourselves. But we want you to be proud of us, when you are with those who are not sincere and brag about what others think of them.
(CSB) We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in outward appearance rather than in the heart.
(ERV) We are not trying to prove ourselves to you again. But we are telling you about ourselves. We are giving you reasons to be proud of us. Then you will have an answer for those who are proud about what can be seen. They don’t care about what is in a person’s heart.
(GNB) We are not trying again to recommend ourselves to you; rather, we are trying to give you a good reason to be proud of us, so that you will be able to answer those who boast about people's appearance and not about their character.
(HCSB) We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance rather than in the heart.
(JB PHILLIPS) (No, we are not recommending ourselves to you again, but we can give you grounds for legitimate pride in us—if that is what you need to meet those who are so proud of the outward rather than the inward qualification).
(THE MESSAGE) We're not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we're on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are
(NASV) We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.
(NCV) We are not trying to prove ourselves to you again, but we are telling you about ourselves so you will be proud of us. Then you will have an answer for those who are proud about things that can be seen rather than what is in the heart.
(NET) We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who take pride in outward appearance and not in what is in the heart.
(NIRV) We are not trying to make an appeal to you again. But we are giving you a chance to take pride in us. Some people take pride in their looks rather than what’s in their hearts. If you take pride in us, you will be able to answer them.
(NIV) We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.
(NLV) We do not want to sound as if we think we are so important. Instead, we are making it easy for you to be proud of us. In that way, you will be able to tell them about us. They always talk about the way people look, but do not care about their hearts.
(NLT) Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart.
(RSV) We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who pride themselves on a man’s position and not on his heart.

Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
ου γαρ παλιν εαυτους συνιστανομεν υμιν αλλα αφορμην διδοντες υμιν καυχηματος υπερ ημων ινα εχητε προς τους εν προσωπω καυχωμενους και ου καρδια

Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
ου παλιν εαυτους συνιστανομεν υμιν αλλα αφορμην διδοντες υμιν καυχηματος υπερ ημων ινα εχητε προς τους εν προσωπω καυχωμενους και μη εν καρδια

Corrupted Manuscripts
None

Affected Teaching
Paul here defends his ministry but he states that he is not going to recommend himself to them again as this was not necessary because there were those at Corinth who knew of his integrity. As Paul spoke of persuading men of the terror of the Lord, he had no other reasons at heart than to see people become saved and avoid the final judgment. Paul’s integrity of heart and ministry was allowing the Corinthian Christians an opportunity to boast in the honest ministry of Paul, especially to those who were his detractors. Paul identifies these false teachers as having glory in appearance but not in heart. In other words, there were people in Corinth following these false teachers because of outward appearance but their heart was spiritually dead. The Corinthian Christians could boast in Paul’s heart because it was focused on the salvation of souls. How many today are following preachers because of their outward appearance? The mega-churches draw thousands of people but they do not preach the stinging message of the true Gospel. They are ear tickling gospels which minister to the flesh and keep a person in unsaved bondage. This mindset was in total opposition to the true Gospel which Paul preached and what is preached by true Christians, who are normally removed from mega-churches for being a troublemaker. The words behind both usages of “glory” never speak of pride or being proud. Paul would never advocate something like that knowing it was pride that caused Lucifer to become Satan. Paul wanted the Corinthians to use his life as a comparison against those who are false teachers and this way they would glory in the ministry of Paul knowing there was nothing false about it. The second usage of the word “glory” indicates that Paul and his honest ministry was the object of that glorying being in the Accusative case.

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