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].
Or moi-même, Paul, je vous exhorte par la douceur et la débonnaireté du Christ, moi qui, présent, quant à l’apparence suis chétif au milieu de vous, mais qui, absent, use de hardiesse envers vous…;
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.
mais je vous supplie que, lorsque je serai présent, je n’use pas de hardiesse avec cette assurance avec laquelle je pense que je prendrai sur moi d’agir envers quelques-uns qui pensent que nous marchons selon la chair.
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.
Car, en marchant dans la chair, nous ne combattons pas selon la chair;
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].
car les armes de notre guerre ne sont pas charnelles, mais puissantes par Dieu pour la destruction des forteresses,
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].
détruisant les raisonnements et toute hauteur qui s’élève contre la connaissance de Dieu, et amenant toute pensée captive à l’obéissance du 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.
et étant prêts à tirer vengeance de toute désobéissance, après que votre obéissance aura été rendue complète.
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.
Considérez-vous les choses selon l’apparence? Si quelqu’un a la confiance en lui-même d’être à Christ, qu’il pense encore ceci en lui-même, que, comme lui-même est à Christ, ainsi nous aussi [nous sommes à 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].
Car si même je me glorifiais un peu plus de notre autorité que le Seigneur nous a donnée pour l’édification et non pas pour votre destruction, je ne serais pas confus;
9 I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].
– afin que je ne paraisse pas comme si je vous effrayais par mes lettres.
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.”
Car ses lettres, dit-on, sont graves et fortes, mais sa présence personnelle est faible et sa parole méprisable.
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].
Qu’un tel homme estime que, tels que nous sommes en parole par nos lettres, étant absents, tels aussi nous sommes de fait, étant présents.
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.
Car nous n’osons pas nous ranger parmi quelques-uns qui se recommandent eux-mêmes, ou nous comparer à eux; mais eux, se mesurant eux-mêmes par eux-mêmes, et se comparant eux-mêmes à eux-mêmes, ne sont pas intelligents;
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,
mais nous, nous ne nous glorifierons pas dans ce qui est au-delà de notre mesure, mais selon la mesure de la règle que le Dieu de mesure nous a départie pour parvenir aussi jusqu’à vous.
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]!
Car nous ne nous étendons pas nous-mêmes plus qu’il ne faut, comme si nous ne parvenions pas jusqu’à vous, (car nous sommes arrivés même jusqu’à vous dans [la prédication de] l’évangile du 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.
ne nous glorifiant pas dans ce qui est au-delà de notre mesure, dans les travaux d’autrui, mais ayant espérance, votre foi s’accroissant, d’être abondamment agrandis au milieu de vous, selon notre règle,
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].
pour évangéliser dans les lieux qui sont au-delà de vous, non pas pour nous glorifier dans la règle d’autrui, des choses déjà toutes préparées.
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].
Mais que celui qui se glorifie, se glorifie dans le Seigneur;
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.
car ce n’est pas celui qui se recommande lui-même qui est approuvé, mais celui que le Seigneur recommande.
