<p>11:1 <em>I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me</em>- Paul is asking them to bear with, or stick with, his reasoning as an unwise fool. He laments that they 'bear with' the false teachers, who demanded their loyalty and rejection of Paul; three times he uses the same word of how they 'bear with' these men who abuse them (:4,19,20). So the emphasis should be on the <em>me</em> in &quot;Please bear with <em>me</em>&quot;, and not with these pretenders. This reading is confirmed by the way that :2 goes on to say that this is because Paul is as their father, who has betrothed them to Christ.&nbsp;</p>