“Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.”
King James Version (KJV)
11:1 I wish ye would bear - So does he pave the way for what might otherwise have given offence. With my folly - Of commending myself; which to many may appear folly; and really would be so, were it not on this occasion absolutely necessary.
2Co 11:1 Paul and His Antagonists SUMMARY OF II CORINTHIANS 11: Compelled by His Opposers to Indulge in Folly. His Jealousy for the Corinthians. Compelled to Recount His Claims. His Unspeakable Sufferings. A Boast in Infirmities. Bear with me a little in [my] folly. The disparagement of his claims by the false teachers rendered it necessary that he should speak of himself in self-defense. One so forgetful of self and consecrated to Christ as Paul could only do this with a sort of sense of shame. Hence he apologizes for doing so, though compelled.