2 Corinthians 11 · a question people ask

"I robbed other assemblies" (11:8). What does the chapter mean by robbed?

In the text

The verse goes straight on: "taking wages from them that I might serve you" (11:8). The next verse says, "for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my need" (11:9). The chapter says no more about it than that, and these notes don't either.

The verses

“I robbed other assemblies, taking wages from them that I might serve you. When I was present with you and was in need, I wasn’t a burden on anyone, for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my need. In everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and I will continue to do so.”
2 Corinthians 11:8-9 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Corinthians 11

2 Corinthians 11: If I must boast

The chapter that says "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that concern my weakness" (11:30) ends with being "let down in a basket through a window by the wall" (11:33). And one Greek verb is behind every bear with in it.

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions