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].
Au reste, moi Paul, je vous prie, par la douceur et la bonté de Christ, — moi qui ai l'air si humble quand je suis au milieu de vous, mais qui, à distance, montre tant de hardiesse à votre égard!
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.
— je vous supplie de ne pas m'obliger, quand je serai présent, à m'armer de cette hardiesse, que je me propose de montrer contre certaines gens, qui se figurent que nous nous conduisons 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, si nous vivons 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].
En effet, les armes avec lesquelles nous combattons ne sont point charnelles, mais elles sont puissantes, par la vertu de Dieu, pour renverser les 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].
par elles, nous renversons les raisonnements et toute hauteur qui s'élève contre la connaissance de Dieu, et nous amenons toutes les pensées captives 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.
Par elles aussi, nous sommes en mesure de punir toute désobéissance, lorsque, de votre côté, l'obéissance sera 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.
Vous regardez à l'apparence? Si quelqu'un se persuade d'appartenir à Christ, qu'il se dise bien que, s'il appartient à Christ, nous lui appartenons aussi.
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].
Et quand je me glorifierais un peu trop du pouvoir que le Seigneur nous a donné pour votre édification, et non pour votre ruine, je n'aurais pas à en rougir;
9 I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].
mais je ne veux pas avoir l'air de vous intimider 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.”
Ses lettres, dit-on, sont impérieuses et sévères; mais, quand il est présent, sa personne est faible, et sa parole inspire la pitié.
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].
Que celui qui parle ainsi, se dise bien que ce que nous sommes en paroles, dans nos lettres, quand nous sommes absents, — nous le sommes aussi dans nos actes, quand nous sommes 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.
Certes, nous n'osons pas nous égaler ou nous comparer à tels de ces hommes qui font leur propre éloge. Mais, en se mesurant à leur propre mesure et en se comparant à eux-mêmes, ils montrent peu d'intelligence.
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,
Pour nous, nous ne voulons pas nous glorifier outre mesure, mais seulement dans la mesure de la part que Dieu nous a assignée, en nous faisant parvenir 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 n'étendons pas notre domaine plus qu'il ne faut, comme si nous n'étions point parvenus jusqu'à vous, puisque, en effet, nous sommes arrivés les premiers jusqu'à vous avec l'Evangile 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.
Nous ne nous glorifions pas outre mesure, ni au sujet des travaux d'autrui; mais nous espérons qu'avec l'accroissement de votre foi, notre oeuvre aussi grandira parmi vous, dans les limites mêmes qui nous sont assignées, et qu'elle se développera,
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].
à tel point que nous pourrons porter l'Évangile dans les pays qui sont au delà du vôtre, sans jamais nous glorifier des travaux déjà faits par d'autres dans le domaine qui leur a été assigné.
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 mérite l'approbation, c'est celui que le Seigneur recommande.
