A.T. Robertson Commentary 1 Corinthians 4:12

"and we toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;" — 1 Corinthians 4:12 (ASV)

We toil (κοπιωμεν). Common late verb for weariness in toil (Luke 5:5),

working with our own hands (εργαζομενο ταις ιδιαις χερσιν) instrumental case χερσιν and not simply for himself but also for Aquila and Priscilla as he explains in Ac 20:34. This personal touch gives colour to the outline. Paul alludes to this fact often (1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 9:6; 2 Corinthians 11:7). "Greeks despised manual labour; St. Paul glories in it" (Robertson and Plummer). Cf. Deissmann, Light, etc., p. 317.

Being reviled we bless (λοιδορουμενο ευλογουμεν). Almost the language of Peter about Jesus (1 Peter 2:23) in harmony with the words of Jesus in Mt 5:44; Luke 6:27.

Being persecuted we endure (διωκομενο ανεχομεθα). We hold back and do not retaliate. Turn to Paul's other picture of his experiences in the vivid contrasts in 2 Corinthians 4:7–10; 6:3-10 for an interpretation of his language here.