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2 Corinthians 12 · a question people ask

"a thorn in the flesh was given to me" (12:7). What was it?

In the text

The letter doesn't say. It says only that "a thorn in the flesh was given to me: a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively" (12:7), and that this was "By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations" (12:7). These notes don't guess: they name no illness, person, trouble or temptation for it, and apply 12:7 to no one's own illness, pain or prayers.

The verses

“By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, a thorn in the flesh was given to me: a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.”
2 Corinthians 12:7 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 12: When I am weak

2 Corinthians 12 will boast on behalf of a man in Christ, but on its own behalf, "I will not boast, except in my weaknesses." (12:5). And it says, "For when I am weak, then am I strong." (12:10).

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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