2 Corinthians 11:15

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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Therefore	οὖν oun	G3767	(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
no	οὐ ou	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
thing	μέγα mega	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative singular neuter
if	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
ministers	διάκονοι diakonoi	G1249	an attendant · noun — nominative plural masculine
also	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
transformed	μετασχηματίζονται metaschēmatizontai	G3345	to transfigure or disguise · verb — present middle indicative, 3rd person plural
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
ministers	διάκονοι diakonoi	G1249	an attendant · noun — nominative plural masculine
righteousness	δικαιοσύνης dikaiosunēs	G1343	equity (of character or act) · noun — genitive singular feminine
whose	ὧν hōn	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — genitive plural masculine
end	τέλος telos	G5056	properly · noun — nominative singular neuter
be	ἔσομαι ésomai	G2071	will be
to	κατὰ kata	G2596	(prepositionally) down (in place or time) · preposition
their	αὐτῶν.¶ autōn	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
works	ἔργα erga	G2041	toil (as an effort or occupation) · noun — accusative plural neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Philippians 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
2 Corinthians 3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
Revelation 9:11 And 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…
Isaiah 9:14-15 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
Jeremiah 23:14-15 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of e…
Matthew 7:15-16 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Acts 13:10 And 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…
2 Corinthians 11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, i…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 11:5-15

After the foregoing preface to what he was about to say, the apostle in these verses mentions, I. His equality with the other apostles - that he was not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles, Co2 11:5. This he expresses very modestly: I suppose so. He might have spoken very positively. The apostleship, as an office, was equal in all the apostles; but the apostles, like other Christians, differed one from another. These stars differed one from another in glory, and Paul was indeed of the first magnitude; yet he speaks modestly of himself, and humbly owns his personal infirmity, that he was rude in speech, had not such a graceful delivery as some others might have. Some think that he wa…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 11:15

no great thing--no difficult matter. if his ministers also--as well as himself. righteousness--answering to "light" (Co2 11:14); the manifestation wherewith God reveals Himself in Christ (Mat 6:33; Rom 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 Phi 3:19, Phi 3:21). according to their works--not according to their pretensions.

Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 11:15

Whose end shall be according to their works - A bad way leads to a bad end. The way of sin is the way to hell.

John Gill on 2 Corinthians 11:15

Therefore it is no great thing,.... It is no strange and wonderful thing; it may easily be given into; no man need to make any doubt of it, or hesitate concerning it, since the devil himself, who is an angel of darkness, is transformed into an angel of light: if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; not that they really are transformed into such ministers, but they appear and look like such; they are not really, but "as the ministers of righteousness"; they put on the form and air of faithful upright ministers of the word, and would be thought to be such; they mimic Gospel preachers, who assert the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ, thou…

The Church Fathers

The servants of righteousness are the apostles, whose associates these people falsely pretended to be, so as to deceive their hearers.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

It is the devil's custom to imitate the things of God. He sets up false prophets to oppose the true ones and assumes the form of an angel in order to deceive men.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 344

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Basket — There are five different Hebrew words so rendered in the Authorized Version: (1.) A basket (Heb. sal, a twig or osier) for holding bread (Gen. 40:16; Ex. 29:3, 23; Lev. 8:2, 26, 31; Num. 6:15, 17,…
Condemnation · According to men’s deserts — According to men’s deserts
Minister, Christian · .OF RIGHTEOUSNESS — .OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Titles And Names Of Ministers · Ministers of righteousness — Ministers of righteousness

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Corinthians 11:15

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 11:5-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 11:15

Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 11:15

John Gill on 2 Corinthians 11:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Corinthians 11:15

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 11:5-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 11:15

Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 11:15

John Gill on 2 Corinthians 11:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Corinthians 11:13-15