TRV
Translation
King James Version
And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
Complete Jewish Bible
but I was lowered in a basket through an opening in the wall and escaped his clutches.
Berean Standard Bible
But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his grasp.
American Standard Version
and through a window was I let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands.
World English Bible Messianic
Through a window I was let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands.
Geneva Bible (1599)
But at a window was I let downe in a basket through the wall, and escaped his handes.
Young's Literal Translation
and through a window in a rope basket I was let down, through the wall, and fled out of his hands.
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In the KJVVerse 29,023 of 31,102
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Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11 verses 22–33
22 ¶ Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
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, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
Here the apostle gives a large account of his own qualifications, labours, and sufferings (not out of pride or vain-glory, but to the honour of God, who had enabled him to do and suffer so much for the cause of Christ), and wherein he excelled the false apostles, who would lessen his character and usefulness among the Corinthians. Observe,
I. He mentions the privileges of his birth (Co2 11:22), which were equal to any they could pretend to. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews; of a family among the Jews that never intermarried with the Gentiles. He was also an Israelite, and could boast of his being descended from the beloved Jacob as well as they, and was also of the seed of Abraham, and not of the proselytes. It should seem from this that the false apostles were of the Jewish race, who gave disturbance to the Gentile converts.
II. He makes mention also of his apostleship, that he was more than an ordinary minister of Christ, Co2 11:23. God had counted him faithful, and had put him into the ministry. He had been a useful minister of Christ unto them; they had found full proofs of his ministry: Are they ministers of Christ? I am more so.
III. He chiefly insists upon this, that he had been an extraordinary sufferer for Christ; and this was what he gloried in, or rather he gloried in the grace of God that had enabled him to be more abundant in labours, and to endure very great sufferings, such as stripes above measure, frequent imprisonments, and often the dangers of death, Co2 11:23. Note, When the apostle would prove himself an extraordinary minister, he proves that he had been an extraordinary sufferer. Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles, and for that reason was hated of the Jews. They did all they could against him; and among the Gentiles also he met with hard usage. Bonds and imprisonments were familiar to him; never was the most notorious malefactor more frequently in the hands of public justice than Paul was for righteousness' sake. The jail and the whipping-post, and all other hard usages of those who are accounted the worst of men, were what he was accustomed to. As to the Jews, whenever he fell into their hands, they never spared him. Five times he fell under their lash, and received forty stripes save one, Co2 11:24. Forty stripes was the utmost their law allowed (Deu 25:3), but it was usual with them, that they might not exceed, to abate one at least of that number. And to have the abatement of one only was all the favour that ever Paul received from them. The Gentiles were not tied up to that moderation, and among them he was thrice beaten with rods, of which we may suppose once was at Philippi, Act 16:22. Once he was stoned in a popular tumult, and was taken up for dead, Act 14:19. He says that thrice he suffered shipwreck; and we may believe him, though the sacred history gives a relation but of one. A night and a day he had been in the deep (Co2 11:25), in some deep dungeon or other, shut up as a prisoner. Thus he was all his days a constant confessor; perhaps scarcely a year of his life, after his conversion, passed without suffering some hardship or other for his religion; yet this was not all, for, wherever he went, he went in perils; he was exposed to perils of all sorts. If he journeyed by land, or voyaged by sea, he was in perils of robbers, or enemies of some sort; the Jews, his own countrymen, sought to kill him, or do him a mischief; the heathen, to whom he was sent, were not more kind to him, for among them he was in peril. If he was in the city, or in the wilderness, still he was in peril. He was in peril not only among avowed enemies, but among those also who called themselves brethren, but were false brethren, Co2 11:26. Besides all this, he had great weariness and painfulness in his ministerial labours, and these are things that will come into account shortly, and people will be reckoned with for all the care and pains of their ministers concerning them. Paul was a stranger to wealth and plenty, power and pleasure, preferment and ease; he was in watchings often, and exposed to hunger and thirst; in fastings often, it may be out of necessity; and endured cold and nakedness, Co2 11:27. Thus was he, who was one of the greatest blessings of the age, used as if he had been the burden of the earth, and the plague of his generation. And yet this is not all; for, as an apostle, the care of all the churches lay on him, Co2 11:28. He mentions this last, as if this lay the heaviest upon him, and as if he could better bear all the persecutions of his enemies than the scandals that were to be found in the churches he had the oversight of. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not? Co2 11:29. There was not a weak Christian with whom he did not sympathize, nor any one scandalized, but he was affected therewith. See what little reason we have to be in love with the pomp and plenty of this world, when this blessed apostle, one of the best of men that ever lived, excepting Jesus Christ, felt so much hardship in it. Nor was he ashamed of all this, but, on the contrary, it was what he accounted his honour; and therefore, much against the grain as it was with him to glory, yet, says he, if I must needs glory, if my adversaries will oblige me to it in my own necessary vindication, I will glory in these my infirmities, Co2 11:30. Note, Sufferings for righteousness' sake will, the most of any thing, redound to our honour.
In the last two verses, he mentions one particular part of his sufferings out of its place, as if he had forgotten it before, or because the deliverance God wrought for him was most remarkable; namely, the danger he was in at Damascus, soon after he was converted, and not settled in Christianity, at least in the ministry and apostleship. This is recorded, Act 9:24, Act 9:25. This was his first great danger and difficulty, and the rest of his life was a piece with this. And it is observable that, lest it should be thought he spoke more than was true, the apostle confirms this narrative with a solemn oath, or appeal to the omniscience of God, Co2 11:31. It is a great comfort to a good man that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is an omniscient God, knows the truth of all he says, and knows all he does and all he suffers for his sake.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 22–33. Public domain.
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AmbrosiasterAD 384
COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES
Some people say that this action was not worthy of Paul, because he was not set free by the help of God. But what need was there for that when he could be delivered by the help of men? The time when God’s help is necessary is when human help fails.
John ChrysostomAD 407
Homily 25 on 2 Corinthians
See for instance here, how he was content to evade the siege, by being "let down through a window in a basket." For though he were even desirous "to depart hence;" still nevertheless he also passionately affected the salvation of men. And therefore he ofttimes had recourse even to such devices as these, preserving himself for the Preaching; and he refused not to use even human contrivances when the occasion called for them; so sober and watchful was he. For in cases where evils were inevitable, he needed only grace; but where the trial was of a measured character, he devises many things of himself even, here again ascribing the whole to God. And just as a spark of unquenchable fire, if it fell into the sea, would be merged as many waves swept over it, yet would again rise shining to the surface; even so surely the blessed Paul also would now be overwhelmed by perils, and now again, having dived through them, would come up more radiant, overcoming by suffering evil.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
LETTER 228, To Honoratus
And the apostle Paul, when he was let down from the window in a basket so that his enemy might not capture him and so escaped from his hands, did he deprive the church, which was there, of a necessary ministry, and was that duty not discharged by other brothers appointed for that purpose? The apostle so acted in deference to their wishes that he might save himself for the church, since he was the only one whom the persecutor was seeking. Therefore, let the servants of Christ, the ministers of his word and of his sacrament, do what he has commanded or permitted. Let them by all means flee from city to city when any one of them is personally sought out by persecutors, so long as the church is not abandoned by others who are not thus pursued and who may furnish nourishment to their fellow servants, knowing that otherwise these could not live. But when the danger is common to all, that is, to bishops, clerics and laity, those who depend upon others are not to be forsaken by those on whom they depend. Therefore, either all should move to places of refuge, or those who have to stay should not be abandoned by those who minister to their spiritual needs; thus all may equally live and suffer whatever the Master of the household wishes them to endure.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
In 2 Corinthians 11:33, the Apostle Paul recounts a dramatic and undignified escape from Damascus, where he was lowered through a window in a basket down the city wall to evade capture. This vivid detail serves as a concluding, poignant example in his reluctant defense of his apostolic credentials, highlighting the profound dangers and humble circumstances he endured for the sake of the gospel, thereby demonstrating his genuine reliance on God's providential care amidst profound vulnerability.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse stands as the climactic personal anecdote in Paul's "fool's speech" (2 Corinthians 11:1-21), where he reluctantly boasts about his sufferings and weaknesses to counter the false apostles who were undermining his authority in Corinth. Having listed an extensive catalog of hardships—imprisonments, beatings, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, hunger, and constant anxieties (2 Corinthians 11:23-29)—Paul then shifts to specific, humiliating incidents that further underscore his vulnerability. The escape from Damascus, recounted here and previously in Acts 9:23-25, is presented not as a heroic feat, but as a desperate, undignified act of survival, serving as the final, most recent (at the time of writing) example of his afflictions (2 Corinthians 11:30-32). This narrative choice emphasizes that his apostleship is validated not by worldly power or status, but by his profound suffering and God's sustaining grace.
Historical & Cultural Context: The event described in 2 Corinthians 11:33 took place early in Paul's ministry, shortly after his conversion on the road to Damascus. Following his radical transformation, Paul immediately began boldly proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God in the synagogues of Damascus, which provoked intense opposition from the Jewish authorities. As recorded in Acts 9, these leaders conspired to kill him, and the city's ethnarch (governor) under Aretas IV, the Nabatean king, was complicit, guarding the city gates to prevent Paul's escape. Damascus was a walled city, and such walls often had houses built into or atop them, with windows opening outwards. Escaping by being lowered in a basket through such a window was a clandestine, humble, and undignified means of evasion, a stark contrast to any grand, heroic departure. This method of escape highlights the real and constant danger Paul faced and the desperate measures required for his survival and continued ministry.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within 2 Corinthians and Paul's theology. Firstly, it underscores the theme of Divine Protection and Providence, illustrating how God sovereignly intervenes to preserve His servants, even through unconventional and seemingly inglorious means. Secondly, it exemplifies Humility and Weakness as a hallmark of true apostolic ministry. Paul's escape in a crude basket was far from glorious, reinforcing his consistent message that God's power is made perfect in human weakness (as articulated in 2 Corinthians 12:9). This undignified exit underscored his genuine apostleship, which was marked by suffering for Christ, not by worldly acclaim. Finally, it serves as undeniable proof of Apostolic Suffering as a credential. Unlike the false apostles who boasted in their worldly achievements and rhetorical prowess, Paul boasted in his afflictions, demonstrating that genuine following of Christ often involves hardship and persecution, validating his authentic call to ministry.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several powerful literary devices. Irony is prominent, as the great Apostle Paul, a formidable intellectual and spiritual leader, is forced to escape in such an undignified and humble manner, contrasting sharply with any worldly expectations of a powerful figure. This ironic situation serves to underscore Paul's consistent theological point that God's power is made perfect in weakness. The Symbolism of the basket itself is significant; it represents vulnerability, dependence, and the unglamorous reality of ministry. It's not a symbol of strength or status, but of being carried and protected in a fragile container. Furthermore, there is a subtle Narrative Parallelism or echo to the Old Testament account of Rahab helping the Israelite spies escape Jericho by lowering them from her window in a rope (Joshua 2:15), suggesting a divine pattern of deliverance through unconventional means, often involving a wall and a descent. The concise, factual recounting of this dramatic event also lends it a sense of Verisimilitude, grounding Paul's spiritual claims in tangible, personal experience.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This dramatic escape serves as a profound theological illustration of God's providential care for His servants, often manifesting in the most unexpected and undignified ways. It reinforces the Pauline theme that true strength is found in weakness, and that God's power is most clearly displayed when human resources are exhausted. Paul's willingness to recount such a humiliating event underscores his commitment to the gospel above personal reputation, demonstrating that suffering and vulnerability are not hindrances to God's work but often the very means through which His glory is revealed. This incident teaches us that divine deliverance does not always come in grand, heroic fashion, but can be found in humble, desperate circumstances, testifying to God's faithfulness even when we are at our most vulnerable.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Paul's undignified escape in a basket offers a powerful and relatable lesson for believers today: God's protection and provision are not limited by our circumstances or by the "dignity" of our deliverance. We often desire God to rescue us in ways that preserve our reputation or comfort, but Paul's experience reminds us that God's methods are often unconventional, highlighting our dependence on Him rather than our own strength or cleverness. This verse challenges us to embrace our vulnerabilities, knowing that it is precisely in our weakness that God's power can be most profoundly displayed. When we face seemingly inescapable situations, whether physical dangers, professional setbacks, or personal struggles, Paul's example encourages us to trust in God's faithfulness to make a way, even if that way involves an undignified "basket escape." It calls us to boast not in our achievements or resilience, but in our weaknesses, recognizing that our limitations become the very canvas upon which God paints His glorious strength.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why does Paul choose to recount this specific, seemingly humiliating event in his defense?
Answer: Paul recounts this event not to boast in his own cleverness or bravery, but precisely because of its humiliating and undignified nature. In 2 Corinthians 11:30, he states, "If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities." The false apostles in Corinth likely boasted in their eloquence, worldly success, or impressive credentials. Paul, by contrast, deliberately highlights his weaknesses, sufferings, and even this undignified escape, to demonstrate that his apostleship is validated by his profound suffering for Christ and his utter reliance on God, not by worldly status or power. It serves as a stark contrast to the superficial claims of his opponents, proving his genuine call through his experience of Christ's suffering.
Is there any other biblical account of this escape?
Answer: Yes, this very event is also recorded in Acts 9:23-25. In Acts, the narrative focuses on the plot by the Jews to kill Paul and how his disciples helped him escape by lowering him through the wall in a basket. Paul's brief mention in 2 Corinthians serves as a personal, first-hand confirmation of this early and dramatic incident in his ministry, underscoring the constant peril he faced from the very beginning of his apostolic work.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Paul's ignominious escape in a basket from Damascus, far from being merely a historical anecdote, resonates deeply with the Christ-centered narrative of salvation. Just as Paul was lowered in a humble basket to escape the "hands" of those seeking his life, so too was Christ, in profound humility, "lowered" from His heavenly glory to enter the human condition. Philippians 2:5-8 beautifully describes this divine condescension, where Christ "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant." His ultimate "escape" from the clutches of sin and death was not through a glorious display of power, but through the ultimate act of vulnerability and suffering on the cross. The cross, like Paul's basket, was an instrument of humiliation and weakness in the eyes of the world, yet it was precisely through this undignified means that God accomplished the greatest deliverance for humanity. Christ's death was His "being let down by the wall" into the abyss of human sin and mortality, only to "escape" the power of death through His resurrection, triumphing over the "hands" of the devil and sin (as seen in Hebrews 2:14-15). Paul's experience thus foreshadows the divine paradox: true victory and deliverance are often found not in strength and glory, but in the profound humility and weakness exemplified by Christ on the cross, through whom all believers find their ultimate escape from spiritual death into eternal life.