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].
Persönlich aber ermahne ich, Paulus, euch mit dem Hinweis auf die Sanftmut und Milde Christi, ich, der ich (angeblich) »Auge in Auge zwar demütig bei euch bin, aus der Ferne aber mich selbstbewußt gegen euch zeige«.
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.
Ich bitte (euch) nur: (Zwingt mich nicht dazu) bei meiner Anwesenheit Selbstbewußtsein beweisen zu müssen in der Zuversicht, die ich mir gegen gewisse Leute herauszunehmen gedenke, die da von uns die Meinung haben, daß »wir einen Wandel nach dem Fleische führen«.
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.
Ja, wir wandeln wohl im Fleische, führen aber unsern Kampf nicht nach Fleischesart;
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].
denn die Waffen, mit denen wir kämpfen, sind nicht fleischlicher Art, sondern starke Gotteswaffen zur Zerstörung von Bollwerken: wir zerstören mit ihnen klug ausgedachte Anschläge
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].
und jede hohe Burg, die sich gegen die Erkenntnis Gottes erhebt, und nehmen alles Sinnen in den Gehorsam gegen Christus gefangen
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.
und halten uns bereit, jeden Ungehorsam zu bestrafen, sobald nur erst euer Gehorsam völlig wiederhergestellt ist.
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.
Sehet doch auf das, was vor Augen liegt! Wenn jemand von sich selbst die feste Überzeugung hat, daß er für seine Person Christus angehört, so möge er andererseits auch dies bei sich bedenken, daß ebenso gut wie er selbst auch wir Christus angehören.
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].
Ja, wenn ich mich noch etwas stärker bezüglich meiner Befugnis rühmen wollte, die der Herr mir zu eurer »Auferbauung«, nicht zu eurer »Zerstörung« verliehen hat, so würde ich damit nicht zuschanden werden,
9 I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].
und es würde sich nicht herausstellen, daß ich euch durch meine Briefe gewissermaßen einzuschüchtern suche.
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.”
Denn »seine Briefe«, sagt man, »sind allerdings wuchtig und kraftvoll, aber sein persönliches Auftreten ist schwächlich, und reden kann er gar nicht«.
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].
Wer so redet, möge sich folgendes gesagt sein lassen: Wie wir uns aus der Ferne brieflich mit Worten zeigen, ebenso werden wir uns auch bei unserer Anwesenheit mit der Tat beweisen!
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.
Wir nehmen uns allerdings nicht heraus, uns mit gewissen Leuten unter denen, die sich selbst empfehlen, auf eine Stufe zu stellen oder uns mit ihnen zu vergleichen; nein, sie sind unverständig genug, sich an sich selbst zu messen und sich mit sich selbst zu vergleichen.
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,
Wir dagegen wollen uns nicht ins Maßlose rühmen, sondern nach dem Maße des Arbeitsfeldes, das Gott uns als Maßstab zugewiesen hat, daß wir nämlich auch bis zu euch gelangen sollten.
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]!
Denn wir strecken uns nicht über Gebühr aus, als reichten wir nicht bis zu euch hin; wir sind ja doch tatsächlich mit der (Verkündung der) Heilsbotschaft Christi auch bis zu euch hingelangt.
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.
Und dabei rühmen wir uns nicht maßlos aufgrund fremder Arbeitsleistungen, hegen aber die Hoffnung, beim Wachstum eures Glaubens dem uns zugewiesenen Wirkungsgebiet entsprechend bei euch noch ungleich größer dazustehen,
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].
wenn wir die Heilsbotschaft noch in die über eure Grenzen hinausliegenden Länder tragen, ohne uns dabei auf fremdem Arbeitsfelde dessen zu rühmen, was (dort schon von anderen) fertiggestellt ist.
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].
Nein, »wer sich rühmen will, der rühme sich des Herrn«;
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.
denn nicht wer sich selbst empfiehlt, ist bewährt, sondern der, den der Herr empfiehlt.
