For we dare not make ourselves of the number - We admit that we are not bold enough for that. They had accused him of a lack of boldness and energy when present with them, 2 Corinthians 10:1, 2 Corinthians 10:10. Here in a strain of severe but delicate irony, he says he was not bold enough to do things which the had done. He did not dare to do the things which had been done among them. To such boldness of character, present or absent, he could lay no claim.

Or compare ourselves ... - I am not bold enough for that. That requires a stretch of boldness and energy to which I can lay no claim.

That commend themselves - That put themselves forward, and that boast of their endowments and attainments. It is probable that this was commonly done by those to whom the apostle here refers; and it is certain that it is everywhere the characteristic of pride. To do this, Paul says, required greater boldness than he possessed, and on this point he yielded to them the palm. The satire here is very delicate, and yet very severe, and was such as would doubtless be felt by them.

But they measuring themselves by themselves - Whitby and Clarke suppose that this means that they compare themselves with each other; and that they made the false apostles particularly their standard. Doddridge, Grotius, Bloomfield, and some others suppose the sense to be, that they made themselves the standard of excellence. They looked continually on their own accomplishments, and did not look at the excellences of others. They thus formed a disproportionate opinion of themselves, and undervalued all others. Paul says that he had not boldness enough for that. It required a moral courage to which he could lay no claim. Horace (Epis. 2 Corinthians 1:7. 98) has an expression similar to this:

"Metirise quemque sue modulo ac pede verum est."

The sense of Paul is, that they made themselves the standard of excellence; that they were satisfied with their own attainments; and that they overlooked the superior excellence and attainments of others. This is a graphic description of pride and self-complacency; and, alas! it is what is often exhibited. How many there are, and it is to be feared even among professing Christians, who have no other standard of excellence than themselves. Their views are the standard of orthodoxy; their modes of worship are the standard of the proper manner of devotion; their habits and customs are in their own estimation perfect; and their own characters are the models of excellence, and they see little or no excellence in those who differ from them. They look on themselves as the true measure of orthodoxy, humility, zeal, and piety; and they condemn all others, however excellent they may be, who differ from them.

And comparing themselves ... - Or rather comparing themselves with themselves. Themselves they make to be the standard, and they judge of everything by that.

Are not wise - Are stupid and foolish. Because:

(1) They had no such excellence as to make themselves the standard.

(2) because this was an indication of pride.

(3) because it made them blind to the excellences of others. It was to be presumed that others had endowments not inferior to theirs.

(4) because the requirements of God, and the character of the Redeemer, were the proper standard of conduct. Nothing is a more certain indication of folly than for a man to make himself the standard of excellence. Such an individual must be blind to his own real character; and the only thing certain about his attainments is, that he is inflated with pride. And yet how common! How self-satisfied are most persons! How pleased with their own character and attainments! How grieved at any comparison which is made with others implying their inferiority! How prone to undervalue all others simply because they differ from them! - The margin renders this: "understand it not," that is, they do not understand their own character or their inferiority.

We dare not make ourselves, etc. - As if he had said: I dare neither associate with, nor compare myself to, those who are full of self-commendation. Some think this to be an ironical speech.

But they, measuring themselves by themselves - They are not sent of God; they are not inspired by his Spirit; therefore they have no rule to think or act by. They are also full of pride and self-conceit; they look within themselves for accomplishments which their self-love will soon find out; for to it real and fictitious are the same. As they dare not compare themselves with the true apostles of Christ, they compare themselves with each other; and, as they have no perfect standard, they can have no excellence; nor can they ever attain true wisdom, which is not to be had from looking at what we are but to what we should be; and if without a directory, what we should be will never appear, and consequently our ignorance must continue. This was the case with these self-conceited false apostles; but ου συνιουσιν, are not wise, Mr. Wakefield contends, is an elegant Graecism signifying they are not aware that they are measuring themselves by themselves, etc.

For we dare not make ourselves of the number,.... Some understand this as spoken ironically, as if the apostle jeeringly should say, he would not pretend to join, or put himself upon a level, who was a poor, little, mean, despicable person, with such great men as the false apostles were, men of such large gifts, and of such great learning and eloquence; though they may be understood without an irony, that the modesty of the apostle and his fellow ministers would not suffer them to mingle with such persons, and act the vainglorious part they did: or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; they were not so vain and foolish, as to give high encomiums of themselves, therefore would not boast even of the authority they had, and much less say that in letters, which they could not make good in fact:

but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise, or "understand not"; how foolish they are, how ridiculous they make themselves; they do not understand what they say, nor whereof they affirm; they do not understand themselves, what they really are; for to form a right judgment of themselves, they should have considered the gifts and abilities, the learning and knowledge of others, and thereby might have taken an estimate of their own; but instead of this, they only consulted themselves, and measured and compared themselves with themselves; which was acting just such a foolish part, as if a dwarf was to measure himself not with any kind of measure, or with another person, but with himself; only surveys himself, and his own dimensions, and fancies himself a giant. Just the reverse is this, to what is said in Philo the Jew (o),

"thn gar ouyeneian thn emautou metrein emayon, "I have learned to measure the nothingness of myself", and to contemplate thy exceeding great bounties; and moreover, perceive myself to be dust and ashes, or if there is any thing more abject.''

(o) Quis rer. divin. Haeres, p. 485.

Make ourselves of the number (ἐγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς)

Rev., better, to number ourselves. Lit., to judge ourselves to be among: to place in the same category with.

{5} For we {h} dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by {i} themselves, and {k} comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

(5) Being forced to refute the foolish braggings of certain ambitious men, he witnesses that they are able to bring nothing, but that they falsely think highly of themselves. And as for himself, although he brags of excellent things, yet he will not pass the bounds which God has measured him out. And according to these bounds he came even to them in preaching the Gospel of Christ, and trusts that he will go further, when they have so profited that he will not need to remain any longer among them to instruct them. And to this is added an amplification, in that he never followed the labours of other men.

(h) This is spoken in a taunting manner.

(i) Upon a vain persuasion that they have of themselves, they attribute to themselves anything at all.

(k) They condemn others, and measure all their doings only by themselves.

10:12 We dare not make ourselves of the number. This no doubt ironically alludes to teachers who had come to Corinth making lofty claims, to whom repeated allusions are made.

They measuring themselves by themselves, etc. These set themselves up as the standard by which all Christian teachers were to be tried.

10:12 For we presume not - A strong irony. To equal ourselves - As partners of the same office. Or to compare ourselves - As partakers of the same labour. They among themselves limiting themselves - Choosing and limiting their provinces according to their own fancy.

are...: or, understand it not

12. "We do not presume (irony) to judge ourselves among, or in comparison with, some of them that commend themselves." The charge falsely brought against him of commending himself (2Co 3:1; 5:12), really holds good of the false teachers. The phrase, "judge ourselves of the number," is drawn from the testing of athletes and senators, the "approved" being set down on the roll [Wahl].

measuring themselves by themselves-"among themselves": to correspond to the previous verb, "judge ourselves among them." Instead of measuring themselves by the public standard, they measure themselves by one made by themselves: they do not compare themselves with others who excel them, but with those like themselves: hence their high self-esteem. The one-eyed is easily king among the blind.

are not wise-with all their boasted "wisdom" (1Co 1:19-26), they are anything but "wise."

10:12-18 If we would compare ourselves with others who excel us, this would be a good method to keep us humble. The apostle fixes a good rule for his conduct; namely, not to boast of things without his measure, which was the measure God had distributed to him. There is not a more fruitful source of error, than to judge of persons and opinions by our own prejudices. How common is it for persons to judge of their own religious character, by the opinions and maxims of the world around them! But how different is the rule of God's word! And of all flattery, self-flattery is the worst. Therefore, instead of praising ourselves, we should strive to approve ourselves to God. In a word, let us glory in the Lord our salvation, and in all other things only as evidences of his love, or means of promoting his glory. Instead of praising ourselves, or seeking the praise of men, let us desire that honour which cometh from God only.