2 Corinthians 10

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Paul’s Apostolic Authority

¹Now by the mildness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when away.

¹Now I, Paul, myself exhort you by the mildness and gentleness of Christ—I who indeed as to presence am humble among you, but being absent am bold toward you.

²I beg you that when I come I may not need to be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh.

²Now I implore you that being present, I need not to be bold with the confidence with which I reckon to be daring toward some reckoning us as walking according to the flesh.

³For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.

³For walking in flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.

⁴The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

⁴For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful before God toward the tearing down of strongholds,

⁵We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

⁵tearing down arguments and every high thing lifting itself up against the knowledge of God, and taking captive every thought into the obedience of Christ,

⁶And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as your obedience is complete.

⁶and having readiness within to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall have been fulfilled.

⁷You are looking at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that we belong to Christ just as much as he does.

⁷You are looking at things according to appearance. If anyone has been persuaded in himself to be of Christ, let him reckon this upon himself again, that as he is of Christ, so also are we.

⁸For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed.

⁸For even if I should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord gave us for building up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed,

⁹I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you by my letters.

⁹so that I might not seem as if to frighten you through the letters.

¹⁰For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.”

¹⁰For they say, “The letters indeed are weighty and strong, but the presence of the body is weak, and the word is of no account.”

¹¹Such people should consider that what we are in our letters when absent, we will be in our actions when present.

¹¹Let such a one reckon this, that such as we are in word through letters being absent, also such we are in deed being present.

¹²We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they show their ignorance.

¹²For we do not dare to classify or to compare ourselves with some commending themselves. But these, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves with themselves, do not understand.

¹³We, however, will not boast beyond our limits, but only within the field of influence that God has assigned to us—a field that reaches even to you.

¹³But we will not boast unto the things without measure, but according to the measure of the area that God apportioned to us, a measure to reach even as far as you.

¹⁴We are not overstepping our bounds, as if we had not come to you. Indeed, we were the first to reach you with the gospel of Christ.

¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves, as not reaching to you. For we came also as far as you in the gospel of Christ,

¹⁵Neither do we boast beyond our limits in the labors of others. But we hope that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you will greatly increase as well,

¹⁵not boasting unto the things without measure in others’ labors, but having hope of your faith increasing among you to be enlarged according to our area, to abundance,

¹⁶so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. Then we will not be boasting in the work already done in another man’s territory.

¹⁶so as to preach the gospel in the places beyond you, not to boast in the things ready in another’s area.

¹⁷Rather, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”^a

¹⁷But, “The one boasting, let him boast in the Lord.”

¹⁸For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

¹⁸For the one commending himself, that one is not approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.