2 Corinthians 3:1 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again [i.e., by saying that we are not like other people]? Or, do we need letters of recommendation to you or from you, as others do?

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

¹ Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹ ARE WE starting to commend ourselves again? Or we do not, like some [false teachers], need written credentials or letters of recommendation to you or from you, [do we]?

American Standard Version (1901)

¹ Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? or need we, as do some, epistles of commendation to you or from you?

Common English Bible

¹ Are we starting to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of introduction to you or from you like other people, do we?

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹ Must we begin again to commend ourselves? Or are we in need (as some are) of epistles of commendation for you, or from you?

2 Corinthians 3:1 Cross References

Acts 18:27

And when he desired to travel over into Achaia, he was encouraged [to do so] by the brothers, who wrote to the disciples [in Achaia and urged them] to welcome him. When he arrived [in Achaia] he was a great help to those who had become believers through the unearned favor of God. [Note: An alternate meaning is, “he was a great help, through God’s unearned favor upon him, to those who had become believers”].

Romans 16:1

I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church at Cenchrea. [Note: This was a seaport town about seven miles east of Corinth].

1 Corinthians 10:33

For even I myself [try] to please everyone in every way, and not to look out [just] for my own good, but [also] for the good of many people, so that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 16:3

Then when I arrive, I will send letters with the men you appoint to take the gift to Jerusalem.

1 Corinthians 3:10

Using the unearned favor shown to me by God [Note: Paul here probably refers to his apostleship and its attending spiritual gifts], as an expert building contractor, I laid the foundation [i.e., in starting the Corinthian church], and someone else is building on it [i.e., Apollos. See verse 6].

1 Corinthians 4:15

For although you have ten thousand guardians [Note: This word means someone who transported a child to his teacher] in [the fellowship of] Christ, you do not have many [spiritual] fathers. For I [spiritually] conceived you people through [preaching to you] the good news [about Christ]. [Note: Paul here refers to his work in establishing the church at Corinth].

2 Corinthians 10:12

For we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with certain people who commend themselves. People who measure their[spiritual] stature by what [they think] they are, and compare their [spiritual] status with their own set of standards, are foolish.

2 Corinthians 10:18

For it is not the person who commends himself that is approved [by God], but the one whom the Lord commends.

2 Corinthians 10:8

For even if I should boast too much about the authority the Lord gave us for building you people up [spiritually], and not tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

2 Corinthians 12:11

I have become foolish [i.e., by my boasting], but you made me do it [i.e., in order to vindicate myself] For I should have been commended by you [i.e., for my effective ministry there in Corinth], because I was not inferior in any way to those “super apostles” [See 11:5], even though I am nothing.

2 Corinthians 12:19

You have been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves [have you not]? We are [simply] speaking [the truth] before God in [fellowship with] Christ. But everything [we are doing], dear friends, is to build you up [spiritually].

2 Corinthians 2:17

For we [apostles] are not like so many people, who “peddle” God’s message merely for profit [or, “who corrupt God’s message”], but in Christ’s [service] we proclaim the message from God with sincerity, [realizing we are] in the presence of God.

2 Corinthians 5:12

We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but we speak [in such a way as] to give you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can have an answer for those who take pride in [outward] appearances instead of what is in the heart.