2 Corinthians 11:15

2 Corinthians 11:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
• New International Version (NIV)It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Context of 2 Corinthians 11:15

13For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 16I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. 17That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

2 Corinthians 11:15 word by word

οὐ μέγα οὖν εἰ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ μετασχηματίζονται ὡς διάκονοι δικαιοσύνης ὧν τὸ τέλος ἔσται κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.¶Read the interlinear

• Thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• noοὐou · noG3756
• great thingμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• ifεἰei · if: even thoughG1487
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• ministersὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ministersδιάκονοςdiakonos · servantG1249
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• be transformedμετασχηματίζωmetaschēmatizō · to transformG3345
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• of righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
• whoseὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• endτέλοςtelos · goal/taxG5056
• shall beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• according toκατάkata · according toG2596
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041

Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 11:15

• 2 Kings 5:13And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
• 1 Corinthians 9:11If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
• 2 Corinthians 11:13For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
• Acts 13:10And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
• Ephesians 6:12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
• Revelation 9:11And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
• Revelation 13:2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
• Revelation 19:19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
• Revelation 20:2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
• 2 Corinthians 11:23Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
• 2 Corinthians 3:9For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
• Isaiah 9:14Therefore Yhwh will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
• Jeremiah 23:14I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
• Jeremiah 28:15Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; Yhwh hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
• Jeremiah 29:32Therefore thus saith Yhwh; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith Yhwh; because he hath taught rebellion against Yhwh.

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 11:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Whose end shall be according to their works - A bad way leads to a bad end. The way of sin is the way to hell.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Therefore it is no great thing … - It is not to be deemed surprising. You are not to wonder if people of the basest, blackest character put on the appearance of the greatest sanctity, and even become eminent as professed preachers of righteousness. Whose end shall be … - Whose final destiny. Their doom in eternity shall not be according to their fair professions and plausible pretences, for they cannot deceive God; but shall be according to their real…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-15Verses 5-15 It is far better to be plain in speech, yet walking openly and consistently with the gospel, than to be admired by thousands, and be lifted up in pride, so as to disgrace the gospel by evil tempers and unholy lives. The apostle would not give room for any to accuse him of worldly designs in preaching the gospel, that others who opposed him at Corinth, might not in this respect gain advantage against him. Hypocrisy may be looked for, especially…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-15Paul strongly criticizes the false teachers in Corinth (compare Galatians 1:6–9). Although these teachers wanted to claim their work was like Paul's (2 Corinthians 11:12), they were actually false apostles and deceitful workers (compare Philippians 3:2). Just as Satan transformed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), his servants also pretend to be servants of righteousness…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. no great thing--no difficult matter. if his ministers also--as well as himself. righteousness--answering to "light" (2Co 11:14); the manifestation wherewith God reveals Himself in Christ (Mt 6:33; Ro 1:17). end--The test of things is the end which strips off every specious form into which Satan's agents may now "transform" themselves (compare Php 3:19, 21). according to their works--not according to their pretensions.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Corinthians 11:15

• Judgment
• Minister, Christian
• Satan
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• Abase
• Above
• Corrupt
• Fear
• Jealous
• Peril
• Receive
• Save
• Corinthians, Second Epistle to the
• Galatians, Epistle to the

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings