II Corinthians 12:3
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
And I know that this man—whether in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows—
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Translate, "I know." out of--Most of the oldest manuscripts read "apart from."
Open source ↗In this chapter the apostle proceeds in maintaining the honour of his apostleship. He magnified his office when there were those who vilified it. What he says in his own praise was only in his own justification and the necessary defence of the honour of his ministry, the preservation of which was necessary to its success. First, He makes mention of the favour God had shown him, the honour done him, the methods God took to keep him humble, and the use he made of this dispensation (Co2 12:1-10). Then he addresses himself to the Corinthians, blaming them for what was faulty among them, and giving a large account of his behaviour and kind intentions towards them (Co2 12:11 to the end).
Open source ↗12:3-4 Paul wasn’t sure whether he was in a trance or actually taken to heaven. • But I do know that I was caught up: Literally But I know such a man, that he was caught up; see study note on 12:2.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).