2 Corinthians 11:16

I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian believers while confronting false apostles who have infiltrated their assembly and are pressuring them to judge him by worldly standards. He speaks at a moment of defensive confrontation, deliberately adopting a posture of self-deprecation to counter their expectations.

The words — The Greek term ἄφρονα (aphrona) literally means "a fool" and anchors Paul's deliberate shift into ironic self-classification. He pairs it with εἶναι (einai), "to be," to frame his subsequent boasting as a calculated performance rather than a claim of worldly wisdom.

The thread — This motif of foolish boasting recurs in 2 Corinthians 11:1, 11:19, and 12:6, where Paul repeatedly adopts the posture of a fool to expose the Corinthians' misplaced admiration for rhetorical skill. The pattern tracks his broader argument that spiritual authority operates contrary to conventional metrics of competence.

Why it lands — The verse demands that readers stop measuring apostolic credibility by conventional standards of eloquence or social status. It requires accepting that divine truth may be delivered through a posture the world dismisses as foolish, forcing a reevaluation of what constitutes genuine authority.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.

Cross-references

2 Corinthians 11:1 I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that.
2 Corinthians 12:6 Even if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me,
2 Corinthians 11:19 For you gladly put up with fools, since you are so wise.
2 Corinthians 11:21 To my shame I concede that we were too weak for that! Speaking as a fool, however, I can match what anyone else dares to boast about.
2 Corinthians 12:11 I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.