2 Corinthians 10

1 Now I myself, Paul, appeal to you in a gentle and humble way, like Christ [would. Certain people among you have falsely accused me by saying], “When [Paul] is with you, he is humble [and speaks gently] to you, but when he is away from you, [in the letters he writes to you] he threatens [to punish] you.” [Those people claim that I do not have authority over you as an apostle].

BUT I Paulos beseech of you by the peacefulness and humility of the Meshiha, (I) who also in presence am humble with you, but while far off am confident over you,

2 I strongly plead with you, “[Please do not listen to people who say things like that!]” [I strongly plead with you not to listen to them], so that when I am there [with you] I will not [need to] speak severely [to you] in the same severe way as I [plan to] speak to those people who think that I behave like people who are not believers.

beseech of you, that when I come I may not be constrained with the confidence I have to be bold, as I think, over those men who imagine that we walk in the flesh.

3 [Remember that] although I am [human like everyone else] in the world, I do not fight [against those who oppose me] in the way that people who are not believers fight those who oppose them.

For if we walk in the flesh, yet we war not according to the flesh.

4 [I will tell you what I mean by that: Just like soldiers use] various weapons [to fight their enemies] [MET], [I] ([fight against/oppose]) [those who] oppose God’s message, but I do it in a different way. I do not [use human arguments and clever/sweet talk], like unbelievers do. Instead, [I fight against my opponents] with the powerful means that God [has given me]. With that power [I destroy their arguments against God’s message and against me, just like soldiers destroy] [MET] the fortresses [of their enemies].

For the armour of our warfare is not of the flesh, but of the power of Aloha; and by it we cast down the strong-holds of rebels,

5 [Specifically], I show that the [human] arguments that they use to deceive [people are completely wrong]. When they [proudly say things that] keep other people from knowing God, [I show them that they are completely wrong. I also enable people to] change their ways of thinking so that they think about everything as Christ [wants them to think].

and demolish reasonings and every lofty thing that is exalted against the knowledge of Aloha, and captivate all thoughts unto the obedience of the Meshiha.

6 I am also ready to discipline everyone [among you] who has not obeyed [the things that Christ taught. I will do this] as soon as you [who truly want to obey Christ show me that] you are [going to] obey him completely.

And we are prepared to execute the punishment of those who obey not, when your obedience shall be fulfilled.

7 [I want you to understand what is] happening among you. There are certain [people there who are telling you that] they know for sure that they are Christ’s [representatives and that I am not]. Those people should realize that I [represent] Christ as much as they do.

Do we regard persons? If any man confide in himself that he is of the Meshiha, let this one know of himself, that as he is of the Meshiha, so also are we.

8 [I say that] because the authority that the Lord gave me [as his apostle] is to help you to become mature believers, not to cause you to stop [trusting in Christ]. So even if I were to boast a little more than I have [already done] (OR, proudly talk a little more than I have [already talked] about the authority the Lord gave me [as his apostle]), [no one would be able to make me] ashamed [by proving that Jesus has not given me that authority].

For if I should boast somewhat more of the authority which our Lord hath given me, I should not blush; because for your edification he gave it to me, and not for your destruction.

9 I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].

But I insist not, that I may not be considered as one who would terrify you by my epistles.

10 [I say that] because some people are saying, “[When Paul writes] letters, he says severe things [in order to make you obey him], but when he is here with you, [people look at him and say] he is weak, and he certainly is not a skillful speaker.”

For there are men who say, His epistles are weighty and forcible; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

11 The [people who say] such things should think carefully about this: The kind of [severe] person that [you think] me to be when you read my letters is exactly the kind of person I will be when I come. [I will do what I wrote that I would do].

But he who after this manner speaks, shall conclude that what we are by the word of our epistle when absent, so are we in the deed when we are present.

12 [Those who oppose me] tell others how good they are. [If they really were superior to me] [IRO], I would not be so bold as to say that I [was equal to them, or] to compare myself with them. [But they are not superior to me]. They make up their own standards [about what God’s servants should be like], and then they look at their own [conduct] and decide [whether or not they meet those standards. By doing that, they show that] they are foolish.

For we dare not value or compare ourselves with those who glorify themselves; but because they compare themselves with themselves, they do not understand.

13 But as for me, I will not boast about [working among people living in] areas outside of the areas [that God sent/assigned me to work in]. But [it is right for] me to say that [I have worked] in the areas that God assigned to me. [And since those areas] include the one where you live,

For we do not boast beyond our measure, but in the measure of the boundary which Aloha hath apportioned to us, that we might come also unto you.

14 [when I talk about working among you], I am not boasting [about working in an area where God did not give me the right to work. What those who oppose me say about my not having authority as an apostle to you might be true] if I had not already come all the way to your area. [But that is not true], because I was the one who first brought the message about Christ to you. [I came to Corinth before they did]!

For it is not as not reaching to you we extend ourselves; for unto you we come with the gospel of the Meshiha.

15 Also, [my opponents] boast about work that others have done [as if it were their own work]. It is improper for them to do that, but I do not do as they do. I confidently expect that as you trust more and more [in the gospel that I preach], you will more and more [agree that God has given me the right to] work [as Christ’s representative] among you.

Neither boast we beyond our measure in the labour of others; but we have hope, that with the increase of your faith, we shall be enlarged according to our measure;

16 Then I will be able to go to places beyond where you [are]. I will be able to tell the good message about Christ [to people in areas where no one has yet gone to tell that message]. And [I will be able to talk about the work I myself have done in that area], instead of boasting about work that someone else has already done [as if it were my work].

and be progressive also beyond you to evangelize. Not as within the measure of others in the things that are prepared will we glory.

17 [I try to do according to what someone/Jeremiah wrote in the Scriptures], If anyone wants to boast [about something], he should boast [only] about what the Lord [God has done].

But let him who glorieth glory in the Lord.

18 [You can realize, then, that] it is not those who (praise themselves/tell you what great things they have done), [as my opponents do], whom you should accept [as apostles]. Instead, you [should accept as true apostles only] those whom the Lord commends.

For it is not he who glorifieth himself who is approved, but he who is glorified of the Lord.