Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

Thrice was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea.

Thrice have I been scourged, once I have been stoned, three times I have suffered shipwreck, a night and day I passed in the deep:

thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice was I shipwrecked, a night and a day in the deep I have passed;

Three times I have been beaten with Roman rods, once I have been stoned, three times I have been shipwrecked, once for full four and twenty hours I was floating on the open sea.

Three times I was whipped with rods, once I was stoned, three times the ship I was in came to destruction at sea, a night and a day I have been in the water;

Three times, I was beaten with rods. One time, I was stoned. Three times, I was shipwrecked. For a night and a day, I was in the depths of the sea.

Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a whole day and night in the deep.

Thrice was I beaten with rods Hence it appears, that the Apostle suffered many things, of which no mention is made by Luke; for he makes mention of only one stoning, [1] one scourging, and one shipwreck. We have not, however, a complete narrative, nor is there mention made in it of every particular that occurred, but only of the principal things. By perils from the nation he means those that befell him from his own nation, in consequence of the hatred, that was kindled against him among all the Jews. On the other hand, he had the Gentiles as his adversaries; and in the third place snares were laid for him by false brethren. Thus it happened, that for Christ's name's sake he was hated by all. (Matthew 10:22.) By fastings I understand those that are voluntary, as he has spoken previously of hunger and want. Such were the tokens by which he showed himself, and on good grounds, to be an eminent servant of Christ. For how may we better distinguish Christ's servants than by proofs so numerous, so various, and so important? On the other hand, while those effeminate boasters [2] had done nothing for Christ, and had suffered nothing for him, they, nevertheless, impudently vaunted. It is asked, however, whether any one can be a servant of Christ, that has not been tried with so many evils, perils, and vexations? I answer, that all these things are not indispensably requisite on the part of all; [3] but where these things are seen, there is, undoubtedly, a greater and more illustrious testimony afforded. That man, therefore, who will be signalized by so many marks of distinction, will not despise those that are less illustrious, and less thoroughly tried, nor will he on that account be elated with pride; but still, whenever there is occasion for it, he will be prepared, after Paul's example, to exult with a holy triumph, in opposition to pretenders [4] and worthless persons, provided he has an eye to Christ, not to himself -- for nothing but pride or ambition could corrupt and tarnish all these praises. For the main thing is -- that we serve Christ with a pure conscience. All other things are, as it were, additional.

Footnotes

1 - "Once was I stoned." Paley remarks in his "Horae Paulinae," that this clause, "when confronted with the history," (contained in the Acts of the Apostles,) "furnishes the nearest approach to a contradiction, without a contradiction being actually incurred, of any that he remembers to have met with." While the narrative contained in the Acts of the Apostles gives an account of only one instance in which Paul was actually stoned, (Acts 14:19,) there was, previously to that, "an assault" made upon Paul and Barnabas at Iconium, "both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews, with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, but they were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe." (Acts 14:5, 6.) "Now had the assault,'" says Paley, "been completed; had the history related that a stone was thrown, as it relates that preparations were made both by Jews and Gentiles to stone Paul and his companions; or even had the account of this transaction stopped, without going on to inform us that Paul and his companions were aware of their danger and fled, a contradiction between the history and the Apostle would have ensued. Truth is necessarily consistent; but it is scarcely possible that independent accounts, not having truth to guide them, should thus advance to the very brink of contradiction without falling into it." -- Ed.

2 - "Thrasones." -- See Calvin on the Corinthians, [63]vol. 1, p. 98, n. 1.

3 - "Il n'est pas necessairement requis que tous vniversellement endurent toutes telles fascheries;" -- "It is not indispensably requisite that all universally endure all such vexations."

4 - "Des mercenaires;". -- "Hirelings."

Thrice was I beaten with rods - In the Acts of the Apostles there is mention made of his being beaten in this manner but once before the time when this Epistle was written. That occurred at Philippi; Acts 16:22-23. But there is no reason to doubt that it was more frequently done. This was a frequent mode of punishment among the ancient nations, and as Paul was often persecuted, he would be naturally subjected to this shameful punishment.
Once I was stoned - This was the usual mode of punishment among the Jews for blasphemy. The instance referred to here occurred at Lystra; Acts 14:19. Paley (Horae Paulinae) has remarked that this, when confronted with the history, furnished the nearest approach to a contradiction without a contradiction being actually incurred, that he ever had met with. The history Acts 14:19 contains but one account of his being actually stoned. But prior to this Acts 14:5, it mentions that "an assault was made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully and to stone them, but they were aware of it, and fled to Lystra and Derbe." "Now," Paley remarks, "had the assault been completed; had the history related that a stone was thrown, as it relates that preparations were made both by Jews and Gentiles to stone Paul and his companions; or even had the account of this transaction stopped without going on to inform us that Paul and his companions were aware of their danger and fled, a contradiction between the history and the Epistle would have ensued. Truth is necessarily consistent; but it is scarcely possible that independent accounts, not having truth to guide them, should thus advance to the very brink of contradiction without falling into it."
Thrice I suffered shipwreck - On what occasions, or where, is now unknown, as these instances are not referred to in the Acts of the Apostles. The instance of shipwreck recorded there Acts 27, which occurred when on his way to Rome, happened after this Epistle was written, and should not be supposed to be one of the instances referred to here. Paul made many voyages in going from Jerusalem to Tarsus, and to Antioch, and to various parts of Asia Minor, and to Cyprus; and shipwrecks in those seas were by no means such unusual occurrences as to render this account improbable.
A night and a day - The word used here (νυχθήμερον nuchthēmeron) denotes a complete natural day, or 24 hours.
In the deep - To what this refers we do not now certainly know. It is probable, however, that Paul refers to some period when, having been shipwrecked, he was saved by supporting himself on a plank or fragment of the vessel until he obtained relief. Such a situation is one of great peril, and he mentions it, therefore, among the trials which he had endured. The supposition of some commentators that he spent his time on some rock in the deep; or of others that this means some deep dungeon; or of others that he was swallowed by a whale (that is, a big fish), like Jonah, shows the extent to which the fancy is often indulged in interpreting the Bible.

Thrice was I beaten with rods - This was under the Roman government, as their lictors beat criminals in this way. We hear of the apostle's being treated thus once, namely at Philippi, Acts 16:22. See Section 9 of the Introduction.
Once was I stoned - Namely, at Lystra, Acts 14:19, etc.
A night and a day I have been in the deep - To what this refers we cannot tell; it is generally supposed that in some shipwreck not on record the apostle had saved himself on a plank, and was a whole day and night on the sea, tossed about at the mercy of the waves. Others think that βυθος, the deep, signifies a dungeon of a terrible nature at Cyzicum, in the Propontis, into which Paul was cast as he passed from Troas. But this is not likely.

(q) Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
(q) By the Roman magistrates.

Thrice was I beaten with rods,.... Or "wands", by the Romans; for this was a Roman punishment, distinct from scourging with cords used by the Jews. There is mention made but of one time only that he was so beaten, elsewhere, and that is in Acts 16:22 which was at Philippi; but that he was so many times beaten in this way, there is no room to doubt:
once was I stoned. This was at Lystra, at the instigation of the Jews that came from Antioch and Iconium, Acts 14:19 by whom he was left for dead:
thrice I suffered shipwreck; neither of which are mentioned by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles; for the shipwreck he suffered as when he went to Rome was some time after the writing of this epistle, and therefore cannot be one of these here referred to
a night and a day I have been in the deep; some understand this of a well, called "Bythos", or "the deep", which was near Lystra, where the apostle was hid for such a space of time after his deliverance there; but this, were it so, he would scarcely reckon among his very great hardships and sufferings: others of a prison at Cyzicum in Asia, which, because of its very great height, was called "the depth of the sea", in which the apostle was imprisoned for such a time; but, we nowhere read that he ever was at that place, or preached there, and much less was imprisoned there; and had he, it is not likely that he should particularly point out such a short imprisonment, but would have let it pass in the general account of being in prisons before mentioned: but rather this is to be understood of the sea, often called the "deep" in Scripture, where by some accident he was cast, and was in it, as the Syriac version has it, , "where was no ship", or without one, being shipwrecked; or being cast, or having fallen into the sea, he was swimming in it, or was preserved by a broken piece of the ship, or by some other means, or by the wonderful providence of God for so long a time; though as sailing in those times was chiefly by coasting, this phrase may only signify that the ship in which he was was drove from the coast into the sea, and lost sight of the land for the space of a day and night, and lay floating about in the deep, which was reckoned very dangerous. The word "a night day", signifies a whole natural day, consisting of a night and a day; and is an Hebraism, and answers to , "the evening and the morning", which make a full day; see Genesis 1:5 Daniel 8:14.

The beating by Roman magistrates at Philippi (Acts 16:23) is the only one recorded in Acts, which does not profess to give a complete journal of his life, but only a sketch of it in connection with the design of the book, namely, to give an outline of the history of the Gospel Church from its foundation at Jerusalem, to the period of its reaching Rome, the capital of the Gentile world.
once was I stoned-- (Acts 14:19).
thrice . . . shipwreck--before the shipwreck at Melita (Acts 27:44). Probably in some of his voyages from Tarsus, where he stayed for some time after his conversion, and from which, as being a seafaring place, he was likely to make missionary voyages to adjoining places (Acts 9:30; Acts 11:25; Galatians 1:21).
a night and a day . . . in the deep--probably in part swimming or in an open boat.

Thrice I have been shipwrecked - Before his voyage to Rome. In the deep - Probably floating on some part of the vessel.