2 Corinthians 12 (WK) - Bible Truth Library

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2 Corinthians 12

2 Cor. 12:1 KJV (With Strong’s)

It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. βI will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

For I will.

More on:

Glory,

Visions

Cross References

1-8: For commending of his apostleship, though he might glory of his wonderful revelations,

9-10: yet he rather chooses to glory of his infirmities;

11-13: blaming them for forcing him to this vain boasting.

14-19: He promises to come to them again; but yet altogether in the affection of a father;

20-21: although he fears he shall to his grief find many offenders, and public disorders there.

expedient.

2 Cor. 8:10• ¹⁰And I give an opinion in this, for this is profitable for you who began before not only the doing, but also to be willing a year ago. (2 Cor. 8:10)

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John 16:7• ⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is profitable for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Paraclete will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (John 16:7)

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John 18:14• ¹⁴But it was Caiaphas who counselled the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. (John 18:14)

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1 Cor. 6:12• ¹²All things are lawful to me, but not all things profit; all things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Cor. 6:12)

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1 Cor. 10:23• ²³All things are lawful, but not all profit; all things are lawful, but not all edify. (1 Cor. 10:23)

to glory.

2 Cor. 12:11• ¹¹I am become foolish, ye compelled me; for I ought to have been commended by you, for in nothing was I behind those surpassing apostles if also I am nothing. (2 Cor. 12:11)

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2 Cor. 11:16‑30• ¹⁶Again I say, let not one think me to be a fool; but if otherwise, even as a fool receive me, that I also may boast some little.
¹⁷What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord but as in folly, in this confidence of boasting.
¹⁸Since many boast according to flesh, I also will boast.
¹⁹For ye bear fools pleasantly, being wise.
²⁰For ye bear if one bring you into bondage, if one devour you, if one receive, if one exalt himself, if one beat you on the face.
²¹By way of dishonour I speak, as though we had been weak; but wherein anyone is bold (I speak in folly) I also am bold.
²²Are they Hebrews? I too. Are they Israelites? I too. Are they Abraham's seed? I too.
²³Are they ministers of Christ? (Beside myself I speak) I above measure; in labours very abundantly, in prisons very abundantly, in stripes exceedingly, in deaths often.
²⁴From Jews five times I received forty [stripes] save one;
²⁵thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
²⁶by wayfarings often, by dangers of rivers, by dangers of robbers, by dangers from countrymen, by dangers from Gentiles, by dangers in town, by dangers in desert, by dangers at sea, by dangers among false brethren, by toil and trouble;
²⁷in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
²⁸Apart from things without, my pressing care day by day, the concern for all the assemblies.
²⁹Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I burn not?
³⁰If I must boast, I will boast in the matters of my infirmity. (2 Cor. 11:16‑30)

I will come.

Gr. For I will come.

visions.

2 Cor. 12:7• ⁷And that I should not be uplifted by the exceeding greatness of the revelations, there was given to me thorn for the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I might not be uplifted overmuch. (2 Cor. 12:7)

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Num. 12:6• ⁶And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. (Num. 12:6)

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Ezek. 1:1‑28• ¹{i}Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, as I was{/i} among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
²On the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
³the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him.
⁴And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
⁵Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
⁶And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
⁷And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
⁸And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
⁹Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
¹⁰As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
¹¹Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
¹²And they went every one straightforward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
¹³As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
¹⁴And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
¹⁵Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
¹⁶The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
¹⁷When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.
¹⁸As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
¹⁹And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
²⁰Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
²¹When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
²²{i}And there was the likeness of an expanse over the heads of the living creature, as the look of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.{/i}
²³{i}And under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side their bodies.{/i}
²⁴{i}And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, a tumultuous noise, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings;{/i}
²⁵{i}and there was a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood, they let down their wings.{/i}
²⁶{i}And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.{/i}
²⁷{i}And I saw as the look of glowing brass, as the appearance of fire, within it round about; from the appearance of his loins and upward, and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.{/i}
²⁸{i}As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.{/i} (Ezek. 1:1‑28)

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Ezek. 11:24• ²⁴Then the Spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. (Ezek. 11:24)

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Dan. 10:5‑10• ⁵{i}and I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold,{/i} a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz.
⁶{i}and his body was like a chrysolite, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as torches of fire, and his arms and his feet as the look of burnished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.{/i}
⁷{i}And I Daniel alone saw the vision; and the men that were with me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves.{/i}
⁸{i}And I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; and my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.{/i}
⁹{i}And I heard the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, I fell into a deep stupor on my face, and my face to the ground.{/i}
¹⁰{i}And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and the palms of my hands.{/i} (Dan. 10:5‑10)

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Joel 2:28‑29• ²⁸And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
²⁹and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. (Joel 2:28‑29)

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Acts 9:10‑17• ¹⁰Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold I [am here], Lord.
¹¹And the Lord [said] unto him, Rise up, and go to the lane that is called Straight, and seek in Judas' house one of Tarsus named Saul; for behold he prayeth
¹²and hath seen in a vision a a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands b on him, so that he might receive his sight.
¹³And Ananias answered, Lord, I heard c from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at Jerusalem;
¹⁴and here he hath authority from the high priests to bind all that call on thy name.
¹⁵But the Lord said unto him, Go, for he is a vessel of election to me, to bear my name before both d Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel;
¹⁶for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake.
¹⁷And Ananias went and entered into the house; and laying his hands upon him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus that appeared to thee in the way which thou camest, hath sent me, so that thou mightest receive sight and be filled with [the] Holy Spirit. (Acts 9:10‑17)

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Acts 18:9• ⁹And the Lord said by night through a vision to Paul, Fear not, but speak, and be not silent, (Acts 18:9)

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Acts 22:17‑21• ¹⁷And it came to pass that when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance,
¹⁸and saw him saying unto me, Make haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me.
¹⁹And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those that believe on thee,
²⁰and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by and consenting, and keeping the garments of those that slew him.
²¹And he said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles. (Acts 22:17‑21)

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Acts 23:11• ¹¹And the night following, the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, for as thou hast fully testified concerning me at Jerusalem so also must thou testify at Rome. (Acts 23:11)

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Acts 26:13‑19• ¹³at mid-day on the road I saw, O King, a light above the brightness of the sun shining round me and those that were proceeding with me.
¹⁴And when we all fell to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [It is] hard for thee to kick against goads.
¹⁵And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
¹⁶But rise up and stand on thy feet, for to this end I appeared to thee, to appoint thee a servant and a witness both of what thou hast seen and of those things wherein I shall appear to thee,
¹⁷taking thee out from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom I send thee,
¹⁸to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness unto light and the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among those that are sanctified by faith that is in me.
¹⁹Whence, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, (Acts 26:13‑19)

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Gal. 1:12• ¹²For neither received I it from man nor was I taught [it] but by revelation of Jesus Christ. (Gal. 1:12)

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Gal. 2:2• ²and I went up according to revelation, and laid before them the gospel which I preach among the nations, but in private to those in repute, lest by any means I should be running or had run in vain; (Gal. 2:2)

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1 John 5:20• ²⁰And we know that the Son of God came, and hath given to us understanding that we should know the true one; and we are in the true one, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life eternal. (1 John 5:20)

J. N. Darby Translation

Well, it is not of profit to me to boast, for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

W. Kelly Translation

I must needs boast; though it be not profitable, yet I willa come unto visions and revelations of [the] Lord.

WK Translation Notes

The more ancient MSS. support the text above rather than the T. R. "It is expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come . . ."