1st Corinthians Chapter 4 verse 12 Holy Bible
and we toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;
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And with our hands we do the hardest work: when they give us curses we give blessings, when we undergo punishment we take it quietly;
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and labour, working with our own hands. Railed at, we bless; persecuted, we suffer [it];
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And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
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read chapter 4 in WBT
We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure.
read chapter 4 in WEB
and labour, working with `our' own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer;
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 12. - Labour, working with our own hands. St. Paul supported himself by the dreary toil and scant earnings of a tent maker, in the express determination to be no burden upon his converts (Acts 18:3; Acts 20:34; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 9:6; 2 Corinthians 11:7, etc.). Such conduct was the more noble because all mechanical trades were looked down upon by the Greeks as a sort of banausia. And though it was repellent and mechanical work to be handling the strong scented black goats' hair all day, yet by this labour he maintained not only himself but also his brother missionaries (Acts 20:34). Being reviled. The early Christians were falsely accused of the most execrable crimes, so that the very name "Christian" was regarded as equivalent to "malefactor" (1 Peter 4:14, 16). We bless. Herein they obeyed the direct precept of our Lord (Matthew 5:44), as well as his example (Luke 23:44; 1 Peter 2:23; 1 Peter 3:9).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(12) And labour.--While at Ephesus, whence this letter was written, the Apostle supported himself by working with Aquila and Priscilla at tent-making. This labour was no recreation or pastime with St. Paul, it was hard and earnest work. (See 1Thessalonians 2:8-9; 2Thessalonians 3:8.) That this labour was rendered more excessive from the Apostle's characteristic generosity to others, we may conclude from the expression used in his farewell to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:17-38), "Ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me."Being reviled, we bless.--A striking contrast to the way in which the Corinthians would act under similar circumstances, and yet a literal obedience to the teaching of the Master (Matthew 5:39; Matthew 5:44). Thus the Apostle became in the eyes of the world, "a fool" for Christ's sake. . . .
