Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 11:29
Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church while defending his apostolic ministry against rival teachers. He speaks during a section where he lists his sufferings and pastoral burdens to demonstrate his genuine commitment.
The words — The Greek σκανδαλίζεται (skandalizetai) literally means "is tripped up" or "is led into sin," describing the act of causing another to stumble. Paul pairs this with ἀσθενεῖ (asthenei, "is weak") to emphasize his shared vulnerability with those he shepherds.
The thread — This concern for the spiritual stumbling of others appears in 1 Corinthians 8:13, where Paul vows never to eat meat if it causes a brother to stumble. It also echoes 1 Corinthians 9:22, where he states he became weak to the weak to win the weak.
Why it lands — The text demands that a leader measure his ministry not by personal success but by his willingness to share the burdens and grief of those he serves. It requires readers to evaluate their own spiritual influence by how they handle the vulnerabilities of others.
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
Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.
- 1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
- Galatians 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
- Numbers 25:6 Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Ezra 9:1 After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
- Nehemiah 5:6 When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,
- Nehemiah 13:15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.
- Nehemiah 13:23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
- John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
- Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.