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].

Now I, Paul, myself appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when with you face to face, but bold toward you when absent!

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.

I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think that we walk according to 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 though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war 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 weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful in God for tearing down strongholds.

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].

We tear down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

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.

We are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

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.

Are you looking only at outward appearances? If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that just as he belongs to Christ, so we also belong to Christ.

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 even if I boast somewhat further about our authority (which the Lord has given us for building you up and not for tearing you down), I will not be ashamed.

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

For I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you by my letters.

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, “His letters,” they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech amounts to nothing.”

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].

The people who say such things should realize that what we say in our letters when we are absent, we will demonstrate by our actions 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 do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves with one another and compare themselves to one another, they do not show good sense.

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,

We, however, will not boast beyond certain limits, but will confine our boasting to the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even as far as 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 we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you; we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.

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.

We do not go beyond our limits by boasting in the labors of others. On the contrary, our hope is that, as your faith increases, our area of ministry among you will be greatly expanded,

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].

so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, without boasting about work already done in someone else's area of ministry.

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 boasts, boast 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 the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.