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2 Corinthians 11:15

It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
2 Corinthians 11:15 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
  • KJV 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.
  • NKJV Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
  • NASB Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
  • NLT So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

It is no wonder that Satan's servants pose as ministers of righteousness, but their end will match their deeds. Their judgment is certain.

Overview

Paul concludes that the false apostles' righteous facade is exactly what one would expect from agents of Satan. Yet their final destiny will correspond to their true works, not their disguise. This sober assurance of coming judgment comforts the church while warning against being deceived by appearances.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Phil 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
  • Rev 9:11They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.
  • 2 Cor 3:9For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!
  • Acts 13:10and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
  • Matt 7:15–16Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
  • 2 Cor 11:23Are they servants of Christ? I am speaking like I am out of my mind, but I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.
  • Jude 1:4For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
  • Jer 23:14–15And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
  • 2 Pet 2:3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
  • Isa 9:14–15So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day.
  • 2 Pet 2:13–22The harm they will suffer is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you.
  • 2 Kgs 5:13Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”
  • Eph 6:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
  • Rev 20:2–3He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
  • 1 Cor 9:11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you?
  • Jer 29:32this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
  • Ezek 13:10–15Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,
  • Ezek 13:22Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,
  • Jude 1:10–13These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.
  • Jer 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
  • 2 Th 2:8–12And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
  • Gal 1:8–9But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!
  • 2 Cor 11:13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
  • Rev 19:19–21Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army.
  • Rev 13:14Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.
  • Rev 13:2The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
  • Rev 20:7–10When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,
  • Jer 28:15–17Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.

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Christ at the center

In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.

How 2 Corinthians 11:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

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