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].
Ich selbst aber, Paulus, ermahne euch bei der Sanftmut und Freundlichkeit Christi, der ich unter Augen zwar demütig bin bei euch, abwesend aber mutig gegen euch:
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, daß ich nicht bei meiner Anwesenheit mutig sein müsse in der Zuversicht, mit der ich es gegen etliche zu wagen gedenke, die von uns glauben, als wandelten wir nach Fleisches Art.
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.
Denn ob wir schon im Fleische wandeln, so streiten wir doch nicht nach Art des Fleisches;
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 unsrer Ritterschaft sind nicht fleischlich, sondern mächtig durch Gott zur Zerstörung von Festungen, so daß wir Vernunftschlüsse zerstören
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 Höhe, die sich wider die Erkenntnis Gottes erhebt, und jeden Gedanken gefangennehmen zum Gehorsam gegen Christus,
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.
auch bereit sind, jeden Ungehorsam zu rächen, wenn erst euer Gehorsam vollständig geworden 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 ihr auf das, was vor Augen liegt? Traut jemand sich selbst zu, daß er Christus angehöre, so möge er wiederum bei sich bedenken, daß, gleichwie er Christus angehört, so auch wir.
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].
Denn wenn ich mich auch noch etwas mehr rühmen wollte wegen unsrer Gewalt, die der Herr uns zu eurer Erbauung und nicht zu eurer Zerstörung gegeben hat, so würde ich nicht zuschanden werden,
9 I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].
damit es nicht scheine, als wollte ich euch durch die Briefe in Furcht setzen.
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 die Briefe, sagt einer, sind nachdrücklich und stark, aber die leibliche Gegenwart ist schwach und die Rede verächtlich.
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].
Der Betreffende soll aber bedenken, daß, wie wir als Abwesende mit dem Wort in Briefen sind, wir ebenso, wenn anwesend, auch mit der Tat sein werden.
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.
Denn wir unterstehen uns nicht, uns selbst denen beizuzählen oder gleichzusetzen, die sich selbst empfehlen; sie aber, indem sie sich an sich selbst messen und sich mit sich selbst vergleichen, sind unverständig.
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 aber wollen uns nicht ins Maßlose rühmen, sondern nach dem Maß der Regel, welche uns Gott zugemessen hat, daß wir auch bis zu euch gelangt sind.
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 zu weit aus, als wären wir nicht bis zu euch gekommen, denn wir sind ja auch mit dem Evangelium Christi bis zu euch gedrungen.
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.
Wir rühmen uns auch nicht ins Maßlose auf Grund der Arbeiten anderer, haben aber die Hoffnung, wenn euer Glaube wächst, bei euch noch viel mehr Raum zu gewinnen, unserer Regel gemäß,
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].
um das Evangelium auch in den Ländern zu predigen, die über euch hinaus liegen, und uns nicht nach fremder Regel dort Ruhm zu holen, wo die Arbeit schon getan 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].
Wer sich aber 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 der ist bewährt, der sich selbst empfiehlt, sondern der, den der Herr empfiehlt.
