2 Corinthians 2:11

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Lest	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
Satan	σατανᾶ· satana	G4567	the accuser · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
advantage	πλεονεκτηθῶμεν pleonektēthōmen	G4122	to be covetous · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 1st person plural
of	ὑπὸ hupo	G5259	under · preposition
for	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
are	ἀγνοοῦμεν.¶ agnooumen	G50	not to know (through lack of information or intelligenc… · verb — present active indicative, 1st person plural
not	οὐ ou	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
ignorant	ἀγνοέω agnoéō	G50	not to know (through lack of information or intelligenc…
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
devices	νοήματα noēmata	G3540	a perception · 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

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that…
Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the…
Revelation 12:9-11 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the…
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

In these verses the apostle treats concerning the incestuous person who had been excommunicated, which seems to be one principal cause of his writing this epistle. Here observe, 1. He tells them that the crime of that person had grieved him in part; and that he was grieved also with a part of them, who, notwithstanding this scandal had been found among them, were puffed up and had not mourned, Co1 5:2. However, he was unwilling to lay too heavy a charge upon the whole church, especially seeing they had cleared themselves in that matter by observing the directions he had formerly given them. 2. He tells them that the punishment which had been inflicted upon this offender was sufficient, Co2 2…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 2:11

Literally, "That we may have no advantage gained over us by Satan," namely, by letting one of our members be lost to us through despair, we ourselves furnishing Satan with the weapon, by our repulsive harshness to one now penitent. The loss of a single sinner is a common loss; therefore, in Co2 2:10, he said, "for your sakes." Paul had "delivered" the offender "to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit might be saved" (Co1 5:5). Satan sought to destroy the spirit also: to let him do so, would be to give him an advantage, and let him overreach us. not ignorant of his devices--"Ignorant" and "devices" are words akin in sound and root in Greek: we are not without knowledge of…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 2:11

Lest Satan should get an advantage - If the man who has given sufficient proof of the sincerity of his repentance be not restored, he may be overwhelmed with sorrow, and sink into despair; and then the discipline of the Church will be represented, not as emendatory, but as leading to destruction. Of this our enemies would most gladly avail themselves, as they wish to discredit this ministry; and there is always at hand a devil to suggest evil, and prompt men to do it; for in this respect we have thorough acquaintance with his devices. Let us therefore be careful to remove, both from Satan and his partisans, all those occasions which might turn to the disadvantage or disparagement of the Gosp…

The Church Fathers

The problem is not merely to recognize Satan's designs but to play into them. Paul knows their dynamics, not so as to be engaged in them but so as not to be entrapped by them.
— Didymus the Blind, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Paul did not want this brother, being filled with sorrow and being rigorously excluded from the love of the church, to despair of himself. The devil, who is always subtle in his tricks, would then see that this man's mind was an easy prey, approach him and suggest that at least he should enjoy the things of the present, given that he has been denied any hope of future reward. Thus the brother would perish, being possessed by the devil, even though an opportunity for repentance had been given him.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

And she perceived that all the rest of the Aeons, as being begotten, generate by conjugal intercourse. The Father, on the other hand, alone, without copulation, has produced (an offspring). She wished to emulate the Father, and to produce (offspring) of herself without a marital partner, that she might achieve a work in no wise inferior to (that of) the Father. (Sophia, however,) was ignorant that the Unbegotten One, being an originating principle of the universe, as well as root and depth and abyss, alone possesses the power of self-generation. But Sophia, being begotten, and born after many more (Aeons), is not able to acquire possession of the power inherent in the Unbegotten One.
— Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VI

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

Satan — Adversary; accuser. When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article “the adversary” (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable with Diabolos, or…
Devil, The · Saints: Should be watchful against — Saints: Should be watchful against
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Warfare Of Saints · Is against: The devil — Is against: The devil

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 2:11

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 2:11

Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 2:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Corinthians 2:11

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 2:11

Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 2:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 2 Corinthians 2:11

John Calvin on 2 Corinthians 2:6-11

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Corinthians 2:11