in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;
Parallel Translations
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in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;
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in strypes in presonmet in stryfe in laboure in watchinge in fastyng
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In stripes, in prisons, in tumults, in labours,
Cross-references (48)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 6:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 11:23-25 Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, and in deaths often. Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep.
- 2 Corinthians 11:27 in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.
- Acts 17:5 But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people.
- Acts 19:23-34 About that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen, whom he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Sirs, you know that by this business we have our wealth. You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are no gods that are made with hands. Not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as nothing and her majesty destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships.” When they heard this they were filled with anger, and cried out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The whole city was filled with confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel. When Paul wanted to enter in to the people, the disciples didn’t allow him. Certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent to him and begged him not to venture into the theater. Some therefore cried one thing, and some another, for the assembly was in confusion. Most of them didn’t know why they had come together. They brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. Alexander beckoned with his hand, and would have made a defense to the people. But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice for a time of about two hours cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
- Hebrews 11:36 Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment.
- Deuteronomy 25:3 He may sentence him to no more than forty stripes. He shall not give more, lest if he should give more and beat him more than that many stripes, then your brother will be degraded in your sight.
- 1 Kings 22:27 Say, ‘The king says, “Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.” ’ ”
- 2 Chronicles 16:10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.
- Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
- Jeremiah 33:1 Moreover Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still locked up in the court of the guard, saying,
- Jeremiah 37:15-16 The princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days,
- Jeremiah 38:6 Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
- Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me.
- Matthew 9:15 Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
- Matthew 14:3 For Herod had arrested John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.
- Matthew 14:10 and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
- Mark 13:34-37 “It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch. Watch therefore, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he might find you sleeping. What I tell you, I tell all: Watch.”
- Acts 5:18 and laid hands on the apostles, then put them in public custody.
- Acts 12:4-5 When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him.
- Acts 13:3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
- Acts 14:19 But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
- Acts 14:23 When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
- Acts 16:23-24 When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.
- Acts 18:12-17 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” So he drove them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
- Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears.
- Acts 21:27-35 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!” For they had seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. All the city was moved and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Immediately the doors were shut. As they were trying to kill him, news came up to the commanding officer of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. They, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, stopped beating Paul. Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done. Some shouted one thing, and some another, among the crowd. When he couldn’t find out the truth because of the noise, he commanded him to be brought into the barracks. When he came to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd;
- Acts 22:23-24 As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that.
- Acts 23:10 When a great argument arose, the commanding officer, fearing that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
- Acts 23:35 “I will hear you fully when your accusers also arrive.” He commanded that he be kept in Herod’s palace.
- Acts 24:27 But when two years were fulfilled, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and desiring to gain favor with the Jews, Felix left Paul in bonds.
- Acts 26:10 I also did this in Jerusalem. I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.
- Acts 26:29 Paul said, “I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.”
- Acts 28:16-17 When we entered into Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him. After three days Paul called together those who were the leaders of the Jews. When they had come together, he said to them, “I, brothers, though I had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, still was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,
- Acts 28:30 Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house and received all who were coming to him,
- 1 Corinthians 4:11 Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place.
- 1 Corinthians 7:5 Don’t deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn’t tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
- 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 For we don’t desire to have you uninformed, brothers, concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, so much that we despaired even of life. Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us out of so great a death, and does deliver; on whom we have set our hope that he will also still deliver us;
- Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
- Philippians 1:13 so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ,
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Good News of God.
- 1 Timothy 4:10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
- 2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,
- 2 Timothy 2:9 in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained.
- 2 Timothy 4:5 But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.
- Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.
- Hebrews 13:23 Know that our brother Timothy has been freed, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you.
- Revelation 2:10 Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 5. In tumults In proportion to the calmness and…
5. In tumults In proportion to the calmness and gentleness of Paul’s disposition was there the greater excellence displayed in his standing undaunted in the face of tumults; and he takes praise to himself on this account — that while he regarded tumults with abhorrence, he nevertheless encountered them with bravery. Nor does the praise simply consist in his being unmoved by tumults, (this being commonly found among all riotous persons, ) but in his being thrown into no alarm by tumults that had been stirred up through the fault of others. And, unquestionably, two things are required on the part of ministers of the Gospel — that they should endeavor to the utmost of their power to maintain peace, and yet on the other hand go forward, undaunted, through the midst of commotions, so as not to turn aside from the right course, though heaven and earth should be mingled. Chrysostom, however, prefers to understand ἀκαταστασίαις to mean — frequent expulsions, inasmuch as there afforded him a place of rest. In fastings He does not mean — hunger arising from destitution, but a voluntary exercise of abstinence.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain In tossing to and fro, finding no place of…
In tossing to and fro, finding no place of rest and quietness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours,…
5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
Ver. 5. In imprisonment] Chrysostom saith, he had rather be Paul cast into a prison than Paul rapped up into Paradise.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In stripes: the apostle, 2Co 11:23, tells us he…
In stripes: the apostle, 2Co 11:23, tells us he was in stripes above measure; and 2Co 11:24, that of the Jews he five times received forty stripes save one: we read of his many stripes, Act 16:23.
In imprisonments; of the imprisonment of him and Silas, Act 16:23, which was not the only time before the writing of this Epistle, as appeareth by this verse.
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In tumults, or seditions raised by the Jews and the heathens; we have a record of one at Ephesus, Act 19:21-41, caused by Demetrius: others, by tumults, here, understand unfixed and uncertain habitations, tossing to and fro, so as they could be quiet in no place; but the former seemeth rather the sense of the word, as Luk 21:9; 1Co 14:33.
In labours; he either means labours with his hands, (which Paul was sometimes put to, as Act 18:3; 20:34), or travels and journeys. The word is a general word, significative of any pains that men take.
In watchings; religious watching, 2Co 11:27.
In fastings, as acts of discipline, by which he kept under his body, and brought it into subjection, as he told us, 1Co 9:27.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain By pureness,.... The apostle having observed how he, and…
By pureness,.... The apostle having observed how he, and other ministers of God, showed themselves to be such by patiently bearing everything that was afflictive and distressing to the outward man, proceeds to show how they approved themselves in other respects; and which more chiefly regard the inward man, the exercise of grace, and a spiritual behaviour: "by pureness"; of doctrine and conversation, chastity of body and mind, sincerity of heart, and integrity of life:
by knowledge; of the Scriptures of truth, the mysteries of grace; or by a prudent conduct, a walking in wisdom with caution and circumspection:
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by longsuffering: not easily provoked to wrath, but bearing with patience every indignity and affront:
by kindness; gentleness, sweetness of temper and manners, affability and courteousness:
by the Holy Ghost; influencing and assisting in the exercise of every grace, and the discharge of every duty, or by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, ordinary and extraordinary:
by love unfeigned; without dissimulation, being not in word only, but in deed and in truth towards the brethren, and to all men.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain In tumults - The Greek word implies such attacks…
In tumults - The Greek word implies such attacks as a man cannot stand against, but which bear him hither and thither by violence.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. In stripes, in imprisonments] Of these the…
Verse 5. In stripes, in imprisonments] Of these the history of the Acts of the Apostles gives ample testimony; and there were doubtless many instances of persecution in various forms which are not on record.
In tumults] ακαταστασιαις. Insurrections raised against them because of the Gospel. It is more natural to understand the word thus, than of agitations, or tossings to and fro in consequence of their unsettled state of life; or because of persecution, which obliged them to flee from place to place.
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In labours] Both with our own hands to provide for ourselves the necessaries of life, that we might not be chargeable to others; and in labours to spread the Gospel of God through all countries where his providence opened our way.
In watchings] Passing many nights without sleep or rest.
In fastings] Partly constrained through want of food; and partly voluntary, as a means of obtaining an increase of grace both for ourselves and for the Churches.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain In stripes - In this verse, Paul proceeds to…
In stripes - In this verse, Paul proceeds to specifications of what he had been called to endure. In the previous verse, he had spoken of his afflictions in general terms. In this expression, he refers to the fact that he and his fellow-laborers were scourged in the synagogues and cities as if they had been the worst of people. In 2Co 11:23-25, Paul says that he had been scourged five times by the Jews, and had been thrice beaten with rods. See the notes on that place.
In imprisonments - As at Philippi; Act 16:24 ff. It was no uncommon thing for the early preachers of Christianity to be imprisoned.
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In tumults - Margin, “Tossing to and fro.” The Greek word (ἀκαταστασία akatastasia) denotes properly “instability,” thence disorder, tumult, commotion. Here it means that in the various tumults and commotions which were produced by the preaching of the gospel, Paul endeavored to act as became a minister of God. Such tumults were excited at Corinth Act 18:6; at Philippi Act 16:19-20; at Lystra and Derbe Act 14:19; at Ephesus Acts 19, and in various other places. The idea is, that if the ministers of religion are assailed by a lawless mob, they are to endeavor to show the spirit of Christ there, and to evince all patience, and to do good even in such a scene. Patience and the Christian spirit may often do more good in such scenes than much preaching would do elsewhere.
In labors - Referring probably to the labors of the ministry, and its incessant duties, and perhaps also to the labors which they performed for their own support, as it is well known that Paul and probably also the other apostles, labored often to support themselves.
In watchings - In wakefulness, or lack of sleep. He probably refers to the fact that in these arduous duties, and in his travels, and in anxious cares for the churches, and for the advancement of religion, he was often deprived of his ordinary rest. He refers to this again in 2Co 11:27.
In fastings - Referring probably not only to the somewhat frequent fasts to which he voluntarily submitted as acts of devotion, but also to the fact that in his travels, when abroad and among strangers, he was often destitute of food. To such trials, those who traveled as Paul did, among strangers, and without property, would be often compelled to submit; and such trials, almost without number, the religion which we now enjoy has cost. It at first cost the painful life, the toils, the anxieties, and the sufferings of the Redeemer; and it has been propagated and perpetuated amidst the deep sorrows, the sacrifices, and the tears and blood of those who have contributed to perpetuate it on earth. For such a religion, originated, extended, and preserved in such a manner, we can never express suitable gratitude to God. Such a religion we cannot overestimate in value; and for the extension and perpetuity of such a religion, we also should be willing to practice unwearied self denial.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain stripes-- (Co2 11:23-24; Act 16:23).
stripes-- (Co2 11:23-24; Act 16:23).
imprisonments-- (Co2 11:23). He had been, doubtless, elsewhere imprisoned besides at Philippi when he wrote this Epistle.
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tumults-- (Act 13:50; Act 14:5, Act 14:19; Act 16:22; and recently Acts 19:23-41).
labours--in the cause of Christ (Co2 11:23; Rom 16:12).
watchings-- (Co2 11:27). Sleepless nights.
fastings--The context here refers to his trials, rather than devotional exercises (compare Co2 11:27). Thus "foodlessness" would seem to be the sense (compare Co1 4:11; Phi 4:12). But the usual sense of the Greek is fasts, in the strict sense; and in Co2 11:27 it is spoken of independently of "hunger and thirst." (Compare Luk 2:37; Act 10:30; Act 14:23). However, Mat 15:32; Mar 8:3, justify the sense, more favored by the context, foodlessness, though a rare use of the word. GAUSSEN remarks "The apostles combine the highest offices with the humblest exterior: as everything in the Church was to be cast in the mould of death and resurrection, the cardinal principle throughout Christianity."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. Stripes—See note 2Co_11:24.
5. Stripes—See note 2Co_11:24.
Imprisonments—As at Philippi; narrated in Acts. Alford says: “He may have been imprisoned in Antioch in Pisidia, Act_13:50; and at Lystra, Act_14:19; and at Corinth, Act_18:12; Act_18:14; and we cannot tell what may have befallen him during his journeys, Act_15:41; Act_16:6; Act_18:23.”
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Tumults—Excitements and mobs raised against him. Luke’s history in Acts abounds with narratives of such movements wherever Paul went.
Labours—The travellings, the toils for self-support, and the arduous preachings and cares for the Churches.
Watchings—Sleeplessnesses.
Fastings—Not voluntary religious fastings—for he is here enumerating severities necessarily suffered—but compulsory hungers. The thus far enumerated sufferings Alford holds to be properly embraced under the term patience, or endurance, with which the catalogue commences.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. in stripes] Cf. ch. 2Co_11:23-24; Act_16:23.
5. in stripes] Cf. ch. 2Co_11:23-24; Act_16:23.
in imprisonments] Cf. ch. 2Co_11:23. The Acts of the Apostles, up to this date, records only one such, namely that at Philippi, Act_16:23-40. But the Acts is far from recording all the events of St Paul’s life. See notes on ch. 11:and on ch. 2Co_1:8.
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in tumults] The word in the original signifies primarily unsettlement. Cf. margin of A. V., tossings to and fro. St Chrysostom would interpret it of the uncertain dwelling-place of the Apostle. But the word came to mean disorder or tumult. See Luk_21:9; 1Co_14:33; Jas_3:16, as well as ch 2Co_12:20, where the word occurs. In these passages moral disorder, not local unsettlement, is clearly implied. For the tumults which the Apostle went through see Act_13:50; Act_14:5; Act_14:19; Act_16:22; Act_17:5; Act_18:12; Act_19:23-41.
in labours] i.e. (1) the toils by which he supported himself (cf. Act_18:3; Act_20:34; 1Th_2:9; 2Th_3:8); and (2) his labours for the cause of Christ (cf Rom_16:12; 1Ti_4:10).
in watchings] Literally, sleeplessnesses, caused by “manual labour, teaching, travelling, meditating, praying, cares and the like.” Meyer.
in fastings] Since St Paul himself distinguished these fastings from ordinary hunger and thirst (ch. 2Co_11:27) we must do so also. “Not fasting from want, but a voluntary exercise of abstinence.” Calvin. Fasting, we know, was practised under the new Covenant as well as the old. See Act_13:2-3; Act_14:23.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) In stripes . . .—The list becomes more…
(5) In stripes . . .—The list becomes more specific. “Stripes” we have seen at Philippi (Act_16:23), and 2Co_11:23-24 show that there were other instances. Of “imprisonment?,” that at Philippi is, so far, the only recorded instance (Act_16:24); but there may well have been others, as in 2Co_11:23. “Tumults” (the same word as in Luk_21:9) at Antioch in Pisidia (Act_13:50), Lystra (Act_14:5-19), Thessalonica (Act_17:5), Corinth itself (Act_18:12), and Ephesus (Act_19:23-41). “Labours” describe the usual tenor of his life, the daily work of his calling as a tent-maker, as well as that connected with his ministry. “Watchings” and “fastings” are, probably, both of them (comp. 2Co_11:27) to be referred to voluntary acts—nights of vigil and self-imposed abstinence—rather than to privations incidental to his work.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain In stripes. (comp. 2Co_11:23-28) The stripes were of two…
In stripes. (comp. 2Co_11:23-28) The stripes were of two kinds from Jewish whips and Roman rods. But of the five scourgings with Jewish whips not one is mentioned in the Acts, and only one of the three scourgings with Roman rods. (Act_16:23) Nothing, therefore, is more clear than that the Acts only furnishes us with a fragmentary and incomplete record, in which, as we gather from the Epistles, either the agonies of St. Paul"s lifelong martyrdom are for some reason intentionally minimized, or else (which is, perhaps, mere probable) St. Paul was, as his rule and habit, so reticent about his own sufferings in the cause of Christ that St. Luke was only vaguely, if at all, aware of many scenes of trial through which he had passed. In imprisonments. St. Paul was frequently in prison, but St. Luke only tells us of one of these occasions (Act_16:24) at Philippi; the Roman imprisonment and that at Caesarea were subsequent to this Epistle. In tumults. These were a normal incident of St. Paul"s life, both up to this time and for years afterwards (Act_13:50 Act_14:19 Act_16:22 Act_17:4, 5 18:12 19:28, 29 21:27-39 22:22, 23 23:9, 10 27:42, etc.) The word akatastasiai might also mean "insecurities," i.e. homelessness, wanderings, uncertainties; (1Co_4:11) but New Testament usage seems decisive in favour of the frowner meaning (2Co_12:20; 1Co_14:33; Jam_3:15) In labours (2Co_11:28; 1Co_4:12 1Co_15:10; Act_20:34; 1Th_2:9; 2Th_3:8) In watchings. "Spells of sleeplessness" were a necessary incident of such a life; and an eminently nervous nature like that of St. Paul is rarely capable of the habitual relief of sound steep. Hence he again refers to this in 2Co_11:27. His "sleeplessness" was sometimes the necessary result of labours "night and day" (Act_20:31; 1Th_2:9, etc.) In fastings. St. Paul never inculcates the practice of voluntary fasting as a duty (for the reading in 1Co_7:5 is more than dubious); but it is probable that he found it personallyuseful at times. (Act_13:2, 3 14:23 9:9) The nine forms of suffering hitherto mentioned three general, three specific, and three voluntary are all physical sufferings borne with "much endurance."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 5. In stripes. See 11:23, 24. In imprisonments. He…
5. In stripes. See 11:23, 24. In imprisonments. He was imprisoned at Philippi, Jerusalem, Cæsarea, and Rome, at least. In tumults. See Acts 14:19; 16:22; 19:29; 21:30.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in…
in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings [Instead of weakening his ministry by making it blameworthy, Paul had striven to make it commendable by the patient endurance of all manner of trials. Had he shrunk from enduring these trials, he would have been ill qualified to prescribe for others those rules of duty which called for self-sacrifice, one of which rules he is about to lay down for the Corinthians. Paul specifies three classes of sufferings which he endured, and each class contained three members. In the first three the idea of hindrance predominates, and in the second that of violent opposition, and in the third that of hardship. For a sample of Paul's afflictions see 2Co_1:4-11 . For necessities arising from his poverty, etc., see Act_20:34 ; and compare with incidents in his later life; as, Phi_4:12 and 2Ti_4:13 . The word "distresses," which forms the climax of the first triplet, means "extreme pressure" and is used to describe one who is jammed in a corner, or so pressed upon by the multitude that he can not move: it is found at 2Co_4:8 . For the "stripes" see 2Co_11:23-28 . The only instance of imprisonment of which Luke tells us is found at Act_16:24 . The imprisonments at Jerusalem, Cæsarea and Rome took place after this was written. As to the tumults, they were the normal incidents of Paul's daily life ( Act_13:50 ; Act_14:19 ; Act_26:22 ; Act_17:4-5 ; Act_18:12 ; Act_19:28 ; Act_19:29 ; Act_21:27-39 ; Act_22:22-23 ; Act_23:9-10 ; Act_27:42 ; etc.). As to Paul's wasting labors, see 2Co_11:28 ; 1Co_4:12 ; 1Co_15:10 ; Act_20:34 ; 1Th_2:9 ; 2Th_3:8 ; Rom_16:12 . We may well imagine that so many tumults and such incessant labor would result in many sleepless nights or painful watchings ( 2Co_11:27 ); but Paul also labored at night (Acts 20:31; 1Th_2:9 ; etc.). The fastings mentioned were not voluntary, but indicate the unavoidable hunger which came upon him by reason of his incessant ministry. Having rehearsed the sufferings which he endured, the apostle next names six especial gifts or virtues which he manifested while thus enduring];
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.