1. I wish you would be patient with me even when I am a little foolish. But you are already patient with me.
2. I am jealous for you with a jealousy that comes from God. I promised to give you to Christ. He must be your only husband. I want to give you to Christ to be his pure bride.
3. But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This could happen just as Eve was tricked by that snake with his clever lies.
4. You seem to be quite patient with anyone who comes to you and tells you about a Jesus that is different from the Jesus we told you about. You seem very willing to accept a spirit or a message that is different from the Spirit and message that you received from us.
5. I don’t think that those “super apostles” are any better than I am.
6. It is true that I am not a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
7. I did the work of telling God’s Good News to you without pay. I humbled myself to make you important. Do you think that was wrong?
8. I accepted pay from other churches. I took their money so that I could serve you.
9. If I needed something when I was with you, I did not trouble any of you. The brothers who came from Macedonia gave me all that I needed. I did not allow myself to be a burden to you in any way. And I will never be a burden to you.
10. No one there in Achaia will stop me from boasting about that. I say this with the truth of Christ in me.
11. And why do I not burden you? Do you think it is because I don’t love you? God knows that I love you.