2 Corinthians 11:2
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Study Note
Study Note
Paul's declaration 'I am jealous over you with godly jealousy — for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ' deploys the bridal metaphor for the church-Christ relationship that is most fully developed in Ephesians 5:25–32 and Revelation 19:7–9. The language of 'betrothal' (hērmosamen) treats Paul's missionary founding of the community as an act of match-making — the church's pure devotion to Christ is his responsibility to protect against the seductive 'different gospel' of the opponents (v. 4). The divine jealousy (zēlos theou) echoes the Sinai covenant's language about YHWH as a jealous God (Exodus 20:5), mapping the Israel-YHWH marriage metaphor onto the apostle-community-Christ relationship. The verse contributed to the rich tradition of bridal mysticism in Christian spirituality from Origen through Bernard of Clairvaux.
Other Translations
For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
for I am zealous for you with zeal of God, for I did betroth you to one husband, a pure virgin, to present to Christ,
For I have a very great care for you: because you have been married by me to one husband, and it is my desire to give you completely holy to Christ.
Cross References
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over …
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be …
For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of …
As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I …
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect …
Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens …