2 Akorinitho 10
1 Niĩ Paũlũ nĩndamũthaitha nĩ ũndũ wa ũrĩa Kristũ arĩ mũhooreri na mũcaayanĩri, o niĩ ngoragwo na guoya rĩrĩa ndĩ na inyuĩ, no ngakorwo na ũcamba rĩrĩa itarĩ na inyuĩ!
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].
2 Nĩndamũthaitha mũtikanatũme rĩrĩa ngooka ngaakorwo na ũcamba ta ũrĩa njĩrĩgĩrĩire gũkorwo naguo nĩ ũndũ wa andũ amwe arĩa meciiragia atĩ mũtũũrĩre ũrĩa tũtũũraga naguo nĩ wa gũkũ thĩ.
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.
3 Nĩgũkorwo o na gũtuĩka tũtũũraga thĩ ĩno, tũtirũaga mbaara ta ũrĩa andũ a thĩ marũaga.
[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.
4 Matharaita marĩa tũrũaga namo ti ma thĩ ĩno, no nĩ marĩa marĩ na hinya wa Ngai wa kũmomora ciĩgitĩro cia hinya.
[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].
5 Nĩtũmomoraga ngarari, na ũndũ o wothe wa mwĩtũũgĩrio wa ngoro ũrĩa ũngĩgirĩrĩria ũhoro wa kũmenya Ngai, na tũgataha meciiria o mothe nĩguo matuĩke mĩgwate ya gwathĩkagĩra Kristũ.
[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].
6 Na nĩtwĩhaarĩirie kũherithia gĩĩko o gĩothe kĩa ũremi, rĩrĩa mũgaakorwo mũtuĩkĩte a gwathĩka biũ.
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.
7 Inyuĩ mũrarora maũndũ o igũrũ. Mũndũ o wothe angĩkorwo arĩ na ma atĩ nĩ wa Kristũ-rĩ, aagĩrĩire eciirie o rĩngĩ atĩ o na ithuĩ tũrĩ a Kristũ o ta ũrĩa o nake arĩ wake.
[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.
8 No kuoneke ta ndĩreraha mũno nĩ ũndũ wa ũhoti ũrĩa Mwathani aatũheire. No rĩrĩ, ũhoti witũ nĩ wa kũmuongerera hinya na ti wa kũmũhinyĩrĩria. Nĩ ũndũ ũcio ndingĩconoka nĩ ũndũ wa gwĩka ũguo.
[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].
9 Ndikwenda kuonwo ta ndĩrenda kũmũmakia na marũa makwa.
I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].
10 Nĩgũkorwo andũ amwe moigaga atĩrĩ, “Marũa make marĩ na ũritũ mũingĩ, na marĩ na hinya, no rĩrĩa arĩ hamwe na ithuĩ-rĩ, ti mũndũ ũngĩtĩĩka, nayo mĩario yake nĩ ya tũhũ.”
[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.”
11 Andũ ta acio magĩrĩirwo nĩkũmenya atĩ o ũrĩa ũhoro witũ ũkoragwo ũrĩ marũa-inĩ maitũ rĩrĩa tũtarĩ ho-rĩ, ũguo noguo tũkoragwo tũhaana tũgĩĩka maũndũ rĩrĩa tũrĩ ho.
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].
12 Tũtigeragia kwĩiganania kana kwĩgerekania na amwe arĩa megathagĩrĩria. Rĩrĩa megwĩthima na arĩa mahaana tao, na makegerekania na arĩa matariĩ tao-rĩ, matirĩ ũndũ mooĩ.
[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.
13 No ithuĩ-rĩ, tũtingĩĩraha makĩria ma ũrĩa kwagĩrĩire, no tũkwĩraha kũringana na gĩcunjĩ kĩa wĩra ũrĩa Ngai atũheete, o na inyuĩ mũrĩ gĩcunjĩ kĩa wĩra ũcio witũ.
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,
14 Tũtireraha gũkĩra ũrĩa kwagĩrĩire, ta ũrĩa kũngĩrĩ korwo tũtiokire kũrĩ inyuĩ, nĩgũkorwo nĩ ithuĩ twamũkinyĩire na Ũhoro-ũrĩa-Mwega wa Kristũ.
[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]!
15 O na tũtiĩrahaga gũkĩra ũrĩa kwagĩrĩire nĩ ũndũ wa wĩra mũrute nĩ andũ angĩ. Ũndũ ũrĩa twĩrĩgĩrĩire nĩ atĩ, o ũrĩa wĩtĩkio wanyu ũrathiĩ na mbere gũkũra, nakĩo gĩcunjĩ kĩrĩa tũrĩ nakĩo thĩinĩ wanyu nĩgĩkwarama mũno,
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.
16 nĩgeetha tũhote kũhunjia Ũhoro-ũrĩa-Mwega ngʼongo iria irĩ mbere ya kwanyu. Nĩgũkorwo tũtikwenda kwĩraha nĩ ũndũ wa wĩra ũrutĩtwo rũgongo rũngĩ nĩ mũndũ ũngĩ.
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].
17 No rĩrĩ, “Mũndũ ũrĩa ũkwĩraha, nĩerahage thĩinĩ wa Mwathani.”
[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].
18 Nĩgũkorwo mũndũ ũrĩa wĩgaathagĩrĩria tiwe wonagwo arĩ mwega, no nĩ ũrĩa Mwathani agathagĩrĩria.
[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.
