The answer to the question at the beginning of this verse is slightly different from the ones given in the previous verse. In verse 22 the answer was “also I,” but here it is “more so I.” In the first case the idea of “more” may have to be translated “better,” as in “I am a better servant of Christ” or “I serve Christ better….”
I am talking like a madman: the word translated madman here is related to but stronger than “fool” in verse 21 above. If there are not two different degrees of madness in the receptor language, this progression from bad to worse may be reflected by the use of an additional adverb, “now I am really talking like a fool,” or by some other means. As in verse 21, this parenthetical statement may fit better at the end of the verse rather than following the structure of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.
Far greater labors: this is not intended to indicate the greatness or importance of the work done, but rather the volume of work accomplished or the intensity with which Paul worked. Many modern versions speak of his having “worked harder.” Some languages will naturally require that the comparison be made explicit: “I worked harder than they have” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “I surpassed my enemies in work.” This is also the case with far more imprisonments, which is likewise a comparison with Paul’s opponents. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “I have been in prison more than they have.”
The Greek word translated as countless in Revised Standard Version may indicate the number of beatings (Revised Standard Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or the severity of the beatings, that is, beaten “more severely” (New International Version, Revised English Bible). The beatings is a rather general term. Two specific kinds of beatings are mentioned in the verses that follow: thirty-nine lashes by the Jews (verse 24), and the whipping by Roman authorities (verse 25).
Often near death: literally “in deaths often.” These words follow a series of comparisons in which Paul has claimed that his qualifications are better than those of the “superapostles.” Therefore many translations and interpreters understand these words to mean by implication that Paul had “been near death more often” than those to whom he is comparing himself (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). In some languages near death may be understood to mean “near a dead person.” But the meaning here is clearly that Paul himself was “nearly dead” or “in serious danger of dying.” Some may therefore prefer to translate “I have almost died many times.”
As noted above, the Greek does not have a word in this last phrase of verse 23 corresponding to the English word “more” as in Good News Translation. The UBS Greek New Testament places a period at the end of verse 23, and all translations follow this punctuation. Ellingworth suggests, however, that a period should be placed after the words with countless beatings and a new sentence begin with the words often near death (Ellingworth 1992). In other words, these final three Greek words “in deaths often” are the beginning of a new stage in the argument, in which Paul will stress the number of times he has suffered in various ways. If translators follow Ellingworth’s suggestion, the translation will look something like this: “many times near death, 24 five times….” Ellingworth’s suggested punctuation is certainly possible, and it takes account of the fact that the final words of verse 23 in Greek do not contain the words “more often.”
In the context, however, Paul probably intended the words “in deaths often” to imply that he had been near death more often than the “superapostles.” Good News Translation therefore remains a good model.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .