1. It is not expedient for me to glory Now, when as it were in the middle of the course, he restrains himself from proceeding farther, and in this way he most appropriately reproves the impudence of his rivals and declares that it is with reluctance, that he engages in this sort of contest with…

2. I knew a man in Christ As he was desirous to restrain himself within bounds, he merely singles out one instance, and that, too, he handles in such a way as to show, that it is not from inclination that he brings it forward; for why does he speak in the person of another rather than in his own?…

4. In paradise As every region that is peculiarly agreeable and delightful is called in the Scriptures the garden of God, it came from this to be customary among the Greeks to employ the term paradise to denote the heavenly glory, even previously to Christ’s advent, as appears from Ecclesiasticus.

5. Of such a man It is as though he had said “I have just ground for glorying, but I do not willingly avail myself of it. For it is more in accordance with my design, to glory in my infirmities If, however, those malicious persons harass me any farther, and constrain me to boast more than I am…

6. For if I should desire. Lest what he had said, as to his having no inclination to glory, should be turned into an occasion of calumny, and malevolent persons should reply – “You are not inclined for it, because it is not in your power, he anticipates such a reply.

7. And lest through the superiority of revelations. Here we have a second reason – that God, designing to repress in him every approach to insolence, subdued him with a rod. That rod he calls a goad, by a metaphor taken from oxen.

8. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice. Here, also, the number three is employed to denote frequent repetition. He means, however, to intimate, that this annoyance had been felt by him distressing, inasmuch as he had so frequently prayed to be exempted from it.

9. He said to me. It is not certain, whether he had this answer by a special revelation, and it is not of great importance. For God answers us, when he strengthens us inwardly by his Spirit, and sustains us by his consolation, so that we do not give up hope and patience.

10. I take pleasure in infirmities There can be no doubt, that he employs the term weakness in different senses; for he formerly applied this name to the punctures that he experienced in the flesh.

11. I have become a fool Hitherto he had, by various apologies, solicited their forgiveness for what was contrary to his own custom and manner of acting, and contrary, also, to propriety, and what was due to his office as an Apostle – the publishing of his own praises.

12. The signs of an Apostle By the signs of an Apostle he means – the seals, that tend to confirm the evidence of his Apostleship, or, at least, for the proofs and evidences of it.

13. What is there in which. Here is an aggravation of their ingratitude – that he had been distinguished, that they might receive benefit – that they had derived advantage from the attestation furnished of his Apostleship, and had, notwithstanding, given their concurrence to the slanders of the…

14. Behold, this third time He commends his own deed, for which he had received a very poor requital from the Corinthians. For he says, that he refrained from taking their worldly substance for two reasons first, because he sought them, not their wealth; and secondly, because he was desirous to act…

15. And I will most gladly spend This, certainly, was an evidence of a more than fatherly affection – that he was prepared to lay out in their behalf not merely his endeavors, and everything in his power to do, but even life itself.

16. But be it so. These words intimate, that Paul had been blamed by malevolent persons, as though he had in a clandestine way procured, through means of hired persons, what he had refused to receive with his own hands – not that he had done any such thing, but they “measure others,” as they say,…

19. Do you again think. As those that are conscious to themselves of something wrong are sometimes more anxious than others to clear themselves, it is probable, that this, also, was turned into a ground of calumny – that Paul had in the former Epistle applied himself to a defense of his ministry.

20. For I fear He declares, in what way it tends to their edification, that his integrity should be vindicated, for, on the ground that he had come into contempt, many grew wanton, as it were, with loosened reins.

21. Lest, when I come, my God should humble me His abasement was reckoned to him as a fault. The blame of it he throws back upon the Corinthians, who, when they should have honored his Apostleship, loaded it, on the contrary, with disgrace; for their proficiency would have been the glory and honor…