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].

Me, Paulo a sɛ mewɔ mo nkyɛn a meyɛ mmerɛw, na sɛ minni mo nkyɛn nso a mewɔ akokoduru ma mo no, me na mitu saa fo yi. Mesrɛ wɔ me Kristo a ɔyɛ ɔyamyefo no din mu sɛ:

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.

Sɛ meba hɔ a monnhyɛ me mma menkasakasa mo anim. Minim yiye sɛ metumi anya akokoduru wɔ nnipa a wɔka se wiase adwene na yɛde di dwuma no no ho.

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.

Ɛyɛ nokware sɛ yɛte wiase, nanso yennyina wiase tumi so wɔ yɛn ko mu.

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].

Akode a yɛde ko no mfi wiase. Ɛyɛ Onyankopɔn akode a ano yɛ den a yebetumi de asɛe atamfo pampim a wɔabobɔ no. Yɛsɛe akyinnyehunu.

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].

Yɛsɛe akwanside biara a etia Onyankopɔn ho nimdeɛ no. Yɛto adwene biara nnareka ma wɔyɛ osetie ma Kristo.

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.

Sɛ mo setie wie pɛyɛ na obi san yɛ asoɔden wɔ ɔkwan biara so a, yɛbɛtwe nʼaso.

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.

Sɛnea nneɛma te no ara na muhu. Obi wɔ hɔ a ɔkari ne ho ka se, ɔyɛ Kristo de ana? Onii no nkari ne ho bio nhwɛ, efisɛ yɛn nso yɛyɛ Kristo de sɛnea ɔno nso yɛ ne de no.

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].

Ɛnyɛ me aniwu sɛ aba sɛ mede tumi a Awurade de ama me sɛ memfa nhwɛ mo na munyin na memmfa nsɛe mo no bɛhoahoa me ho.

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

Mempɛ sɛ modwene sɛ mede me nkrataa a makyerɛw mo no rehunahuna mo.

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.”

Obi bɛka se, “Paulo nkrataa mu nsɛm no yɛ yaw nanso sɛ ɔba yɛn nkyɛn a, ɔyɛ bɔkɔɔ na ne nsɛm nso nka hwee!”

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].

Ɛsɛ sɛ saa onipa no te ne ho ase sɛ, nsonoe biara nna nsɛm a ɛwɔ yɛn nkrataa a yɛkyerɛw no bere a yenni mo nkyɛn no, ne nea sɛ yɛwɔ mo nkyɛn a yɛyɛ no mu.

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.

Ɛyɛ nokware, yɛrentumi mfa yɛn ho ntoto wɔn a wɔfa wɔn ho sɛ wɔn asetena korɔn no ho. Saa nnipa no yɛ nkwaseafo! Wɔnam wɔn ho a wɔde toto wɔn ho wɔn ho so no bu wɔn ho atɛn.

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,

Yɛn de, yɛn ahohoahoa no ntra so bi. Yɛn ahohoahoa no ntra dwuma a Onyankopɔn atu yɛn sɛ yenni a mo mu adwumayɛ ka ho bi no so.

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]!

Esiane sɛ mowɔ saa tebea no mu nti, yɛbaa mo nkyɛn bɛkaa Asɛmpa a ɛfa Kristo ho no a yɛantra.

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.

Eyi nti yɛmmfa adwuma a nkurɔfo ayɛ no nhoahoa yɛn ho te sɛ yɛn ara na yɛyɛe. Nea yɛrepɛ ne sɛ mo gyidi ase betim na anam so ama yɛatumi ayɛ mo mu adwuma a yɛntra baabi a Onyankopɔn ahyɛ no.

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].

Na yɛnam so atumi aka Asɛmpa wɔ aman afoforo so a yɛremfa adwuma a ɔfoforo ayɛ no nhoahoa yɛn ho.

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].

Kyerɛwsɛm no ka se, “Obiara a ɔpɛ sɛ ɔhoahoa ne ho no nhoahoa no wɔ ade a Awurade ayɛ mu.”

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.

Efisɛ ɛnyɛ ka a onipa bɛka ne ho asɛm pa no na ɛma Onyankopɔn gye no to mu, na mmom onipa a Onyankopɔn no ara bɛka ne ho asɛm pa no na ogye no to mu.