2 Corinthians 11:6

2 Corinthians 11:6
(KJV) But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
(1611 KJV) But though I be rude in speach, yet not in knowledge; but we haue bene throughly made manifest among you in all things.
(1587 Geneva Bible) And though I be rude in speaking, yet I am not so in knowledge, but among you wee haue beene made manifest to the vttermost, in all things.
(1526 Tyndale) Though I be rude in speakynge yet I am not so in knowledge. How be it amonge you we are knowen to the vtmost what we are in all thynges.

Counterfeit Versions
(AMP) But even if [I am] unskilled in speaking, yet [I am] not [unskilled] in knowledge [I know what I am talking about]; we have made this evident to you in all things.
(CEB) But even if I’m uneducated in public speaking, I’m not uneducated in knowledge. We have shown this to you in every way and in everything we have done.
(CEV) I may not speak as well as they do, but I know as much. And this has already been made perfectly clear to you.

(CSB) Even if I am untrained in public speaking, I am certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have in every way made that clear to you in everything.

(ERV) It is true that I am not a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
(ESV) Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
(GNB) Perhaps I am an amateur in speaking, but certainly not in knowledge; we have made this clear to you at all times and in all conditions.
(HCSB) Though untrained in public speaking, I am certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have always made that clear to you in everything.
(JB Phillips) Perhaps I am not a polished speaker, but I do know what I am talking about, and both what I am and what I say is pretty familiar to you.
(LB) If I am a poor speaker, at least I know what I am talking about, as I think you realize by now, for we have proved it again and again.
(THE MESSAGE) If I am a poor speaker, at least I know what I am talking about, as I think you realize by now, for we have proved it again and again.
(NASV) But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
(NCV) I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
(NET) And even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way.
(NIRV) I may not be a trained speaker. But I do have knowledge. I’ve made that very clear to you in every way.
(NIV) I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
(NKJV) Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things.
(NLV) Even if it is hard for me to speak, I know what I am talking about. You know this by now.
(NLT) I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.
(RSV) Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
(VOICE) Even if I’m not the greatest speaker, I make up for it by what I know of God and have proved it time and again to you.
(2011 NAB-Roman Catholic) Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) But even if I am unskilled in speech, I certainly am not in knowledge; indeed we made it clear to you in every way and in everything.

Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
ει δε και ιδιωτης τω λογω αλλ ου τη γνωσει αλλ εν παντι φανερωθεντες εν πασιν εις υμας

Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
ει δε και ιδιωτης τω λογω αλλ ου τη γνωσει αλλ εν παντι φανερωσαντες εν πασιν εις υμας

Corrupted Manuscripts
None

Affected Teaching
Here is a good example of the superior English of the King James Bible. The translators picked the perfect word for this particular verse. The word “rude” comes from the Latin word “rudis” which means “raw or rough.” It is used only once in the New Testament. The Greek word behind it is “idiotes” which carries with it the meaning of “unlearned or unskilled.” It is translated as:

Ignorant - Acts 4:13
Unlearned - 1 Cor. 14:16; 1 Cor. 14:23; 1 Cor. 14:24

So we see that the word “idiotes” does carry with it the meaning of “unlearned, unskilled, or ignorant.” Then why would the translators use the word “rude” in 2 Corinthians 11:6? The word rude in one of its lesser meanings does carry with it the idea of unlearned but the primary meaning is “coarse or rough.” The answer is simple and obvious. Can anyone really claim that the Apostle Paul was unlearned or ignorant? He had a history of great ability of speech since he had spoken to many crowds and before many dignitaries. Here are some examples:

Acts 13 - The Synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia
Acts 21:40-22:22 - Paul addressing the mob at Jerusalem
Acts 23 - Paul before the Sanhedrin
Acts 26 - Paul before King Agrippa

These are just four examples of the fact that Paul was a very capable speaker. So the word “unskilled or unlearned” would definitely have been a false description of Paul’s ability for public speaking. Yet, the modern versions accuse Paul of being unskilled and incapable of bringing the message. Now the reason that the word “rude” was used in 2 Corinthians 11:6 is because many times the behavior of the Corinthian church required Paul to be more coarse with them than normal while not insulting them or offending them. He was rude in speech with the desire to build them up and to bring them back on course. Sometimes it is necessary to be rougher than normal to cause Christians to think and to bring them back from a possible trek down the apostasy highway. (Acts 20:27 KJV) For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Do you think the full counsel of God requires only soft soap and rose petals? The full counsel of God is a rough teaching to us because it requires us to be obedient to the point of death and when we start straying, God has to bring us back and many times it is not a pleasant U-turn but a necessary one. By using the word “rude” the KJV translators gave us a tremendous insight into Paul’s dealings with a very rebellious church. This is just one instance which shows how God guided the translators of the KJV to give us really good understanding in English while the modern versions continue to translate nebulous words ambiguously.

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