“Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?”
The full verse · 2 Corinthians 11:29 · KJV
is , I ? is , ?
Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Corinth, carrying "the care of all the churches" (2 Corinthians 11:28)
Asked to
Corinthians: the church at Corinth, one of the churches whose daily care weighed on Paul (2 Corinthians 11:28)
The Scene
After listing his beatings, shipwrecks, and dangers, Paul names the heaviest load of all: "that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches" (2 Corinthians 11:28).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThese two questions show what that daily care felt like from the inside. The first says that no believer is weak without Paul feeling that weakness with them. Barnes takes "weak" broadly: weak in faith, in body, or under trial. The second says that when anyone is "offended," led into sin, Paul burns. Barnes says he "could not look upon such things with indifference," and Gill pictures him "as one in a flame, all on fire, full of grief and trouble" until the cause of the stumbling was removed. Put as questions, they invite the reader to look for a case where Paul was untouched, and there is none.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe expected answer is no one. Paul does not stop to spell it out. He moves straight to what he will boast of: "If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities" (2 Corinthians 11:30). Then he calls God as witness, "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... knoweth that I lie not" (2 Corinthians 11:31).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Offended" translates the Greek skandalizetai, glossed in the interlinear as "is led into sin." "Burn" is pyroumai, "burn inwardly," an inner fire. Barnes explains it as "with anger or with great agitation of mind at learning that anyone had fallen into sin" (the ESV has "indignant"). Barnes links this verse to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:22, "To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak," and to Romans 12:15, "weep with them that weep." Paul had written to these same Corinthians about not causing a weaker brother to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:11-13).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyPaul's sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 came from outside. This one came from inside, from love. Matthew Henry writes, "There was not a weak Christian with whom he did not sympathize." The man who had been beaten and shipwrecked felt most deeply the stumbling of a fellow believer.
The questions also prepare for where Paul is going. He will not glory in strength but in weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30), and he will tell how the Lord said to him, "my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Sharing the weakness of his people did not make Paul less fit to serve. Barnes says this verse "shows what should be the feeling of every pastor."
Look Closer
What does "who is offended, and I burn not?" express?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, whose weakness are You inviting me to feel with them right now, and how can I stand with them in it?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- When you see a fellow believer stumble, what is your first reaction: judgment, distance, or grief? What does that reaction show about your heart?
- Tell about a time someone felt your weakness with you. What did that mean to you?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Caring for people means feeling with them. Paul did not watch the weak from a distance. He was weak with them. He did not shrug when someone fell into sin. He burned.
You can carry others the same way: by noticing who is struggling, staying close instead of pulling back, and grieving over sin rather than gossiping about it. "Weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15).
This does not mean excusing what causes others to stumble. Gill says Paul was full of grief "till the cause of the offence was removed." It also does not mean carrying every burden alone; Paul's own strength came from God's grace in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources