2 Corinthians 11:7

Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I preached to you the gospel of God for naught?

The bitter sarcasm of this is evident. "Professional Greek rhetoricians (alluded to in 2 Corinthians 11:6) would be suspect if they failed to demand fees."[28] Paul's sarcastic question is, "Have you been so completely taken in by these false apostles that you could believe I am a sinner because I did not demand your money when I preached to you the gospel?" As Lipscomb said, "This is bitter irony ... he was deeply hurt by the ungenerous construction of his generosity."[29]

It really is not certain that all of the alleged slanders against Paul which he answered in these lines were really spoken against him, although most commentators seem to assume this. However, Clines pointed out that,

It can be argued that these extremely perverse criticisms were not actually made, but are ironically imagined by Paul in order to contrast his own and the false apostles' attitude to financial support.[30]

[28] Norman Hillyer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 1085.

[29] David Lipscomb, op. cit., p. 141.

[30] David J. A. Clines, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 436.