2 Corinthians 10
1 This is me Paul, personally appealing to you through Christ's kindness and gentleness, the one who is “shy” when I have to face you but who is “bold” when I'm not there.
Αὐτὸς δὲ ἐγὼ Παῦλος παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς διὰ τῆς πρᾳότητος καὶ ἐπιεικείας τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃς κατὰ πρόσωπον μὲν ταπεινὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀπὼν δὲ θαρρῶ εἰς ὑμᾶς·
2 I'm pleading with you, so that the next time I'm with you I won't have to be as tough as I think I'll have to be, boldly dealing with those who think we behave in worldly ways.
δέομαι δέ, τὸ μὴ παρὼν θαρρῆσαι τῇ πεποιθήσει ᾗ λογίζομαι τολμῆσαι ἐπί τινας τοὺς λογιζομένους ἡμᾶς ὡς κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦντας.
3 Even though we live in this world, we don't fight as the world does.
Ἐν σαρκὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦντες, οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα—
4 Our weapons are not of this world but God's mighty power that destroys fortresses of human thinking, demolishing misleading theories.
τὰ γὰρ ὅπλα τῆς στρατείας ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικά, ἀλλὰ δυνατὰ τῷ Θεῷ πρὸς καθαίρεσιν ὀχυρωμάτων—
5 Every high wall that stands tall and proud against the knowledge of God is knocked down. Every rebel idea is captured and brought into obedient agreement with Christ.
λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντες καὶ πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντες πᾶν νόημα εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
6 When you are completely obeying Christ then we're ready to punish any disobedience.
καὶ ἐν ἑτοίμῳ ἔχοντες ἐκδικῆσαι πᾶσαν παρακοήν, ὅταν πληρωθῇ ὑμῶν ἡ ὑπακοή.
7 Look at what's staring you in the face! Anyone who considers that they belong to Christ should think again—just as they belong to Christ, so do we!
Τὰ κατὰ πρόσωπον βλέπετε; Εἴ τις πέποιθεν ἑαυτῷ Χριστοῦ εἶναι, τοῦτο λογιζέσθω πάλιν ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ, ὅτι καθὼς αὐτὸς Χριστοῦ, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς Χριστοῦ.
8 Even though I may seem to be boasting a little too much about our authority, I'm not embarrassed about it. The Lord gave this authority to us to build you up, not to knock you down.
Ἐάν τε γὰρ καὶ περισσότερόν τι καυχήσωμαι περὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἡμῶν—ἧς ἔδωκεν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῖν εἰς οἰκοδομήν, καὶ οὐκ εἰς καθαίρεσιν ὑμῶν—οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσομαι·
9 I'm not trying to scare you by my letters.
ἵνα μὴ δόξω ὡς ἂν ἐκφοβεῖν ὑμᾶς διὰ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν.
10 People say, “His letters are tough and severe, but in person he's feeble, and he's a useless speaker.”
Ὅτι, Αἱ μὲν ἐπιστολαί, φησί, βαρεῖαι καὶ ἰσχυραί· ἡ δὲ παρουσία τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενής, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἐξουθενημένος.
11 People like that should realize that what we say through letters when we're not there we will do when we are there!
Τοῦτο λογιζέσθω ὁ τοιοῦτος, ὅτι οἷοί ἐσμεν τῷ λόγῳ δι᾽ ἐπιστολῶν ἀπόντες, τοιοῦτοι καὶ παρόντες τῷ ἔργῳ.
12 We're not so arrogant to compare ourselves with those who think so much of themselves. Those who measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, are really foolish!
Οὐ γὰρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἢ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισι τῶν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστανόντων· ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες, καὶ συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς, οὐ συνιοῦσιν.
13 But we won't boast about ourselves in extravagant terms that can't be measured. We simply measure what we have done using God's system of measurement that he gave us—and that includes you.
Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐχὶ εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα καυχησόμεθα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ κανόνος οὗ ἐμέρισεν ἡμῖν ὁ Θεός, μέτρου, ἐφικέσθαι ἄχρι καὶ ὑμῶν.
14 We are not over-extending our authority in saying this, as if we didn't get as far as you, for we did get to you and share with you the good news of Christ.
Οὐ γὰρ ὡς μὴ ἐφικνούμενοι εἰς ὑμᾶς ὑπερεκτείνομεν ἑαυτούς· ἄχρι γὰρ καὶ ὑμῶν ἐφθάσαμεν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ·
15 We're not boasting in extravagant terms that can't be measured, claiming credit for what others have done. On the contrary, we hope that as your trust in God grows, our work among you will greatly increase.
οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα καυχώμενοι, ἐν ἀλλοτρίοις κόποις, ἐλπίδα δὲ ἔχοντες, αὐξανομένης τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, ἐν ὑμῖν μεγαλυνθῆναι κατὰ τὸν κανόνα ἡμῶν εἰς περισσείαν,
16 Then we can share the good news in places way beyond you, without boasting about what's already been done where someone else has worked.
εἰς τὰ ὑπερέκεινα ὑμῶν εὐαγγελίσασθαι, οὐκ ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ κανόνι εἰς τὰ ἕτοιμα καυχήσασθαι.
17 “If anyone wants to boast, boast about the Lord.”
Ὁ δὲ καυχώμενος, ἐν Κυρίῳ καυχάσθω.
18 It's not those who praise themselves that are respected, but those that the Lord praises.
Οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἑαυτὸν συνιστῶν, ἐκεῖνός ἐστι δόκιμος, ἀλλ᾽ ὃν ὁ Κύριος συνίστησιν.
