(2 Corinthians 11:21b-29)
But if anyone dares to boast about something--I am talking like a fool--I will be just as daring. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham descendants? So am I. Are they Christ's servants? I sound like a mad man-- but I am a better servant than they are! I have worked much harder, I have been in prison more times, I have been whipped much more, and I have been near death more often. Five times I was given the thirty-nine lashes by the Jews; three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks , and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water. In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from fellow Jews and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends. There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing. And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches. When someone is weak, then I feel weak too; when some is led into sin, I am filled with distress.
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