Corinthios Ii 10
1 ipse autem ego Paulus obsecro vos per mansuetudinem et modestiam Christi qui in facie quidem humilis inter vos absens autem confido in vobis
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 rogo autem ne praesens audeam per eam confidentiam qua existimo audere in quosdam qui arbitrantur nos tamquam secundum carnem ambulemus
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 in carne enim ambulantes non secundum carnem militamus
[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 nam arma militiae nostrae non carnalia sed potentia Deo ad destructionem munitionum consilia destruentes
[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 et omnem altitudinem extollentem se adversus scientiam Dei et in captivitatem redigentes omnem intellectum in obsequium Christi
[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 et in promptu habentes ulcisci omnem inoboedientiam cum impleta fuerit vestra oboedientia
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 quae secundum faciem sunt videte si quis confidit sibi Christi se esse hoc cogitet iterum apud se quia sicut ipse Christi est ita et nos
[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 nam et si amplius aliquid gloriatus fuero de potestate nostra quam dedit Dominus in aedificationem et non in destructionem vestram non erubescam
[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 ut autem non existimer tamquam terrere vos per epistulas
I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].
10 quoniam quidem epistulae inquiunt graves sunt et fortes praesentia autem corporis infirma et sermo contemptibilis
[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 hoc cogitet qui eiusmodi est quia quales sumus verbo per epistulas absentes tales et praesentes in facto
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 non enim audemus inserere aut conparare nos quibusdam qui se ipsos commendant sed ipsi in nobis nosmet ipsos metientes et conparantes nosmet ipsos nobis
[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 nos autem non in inmensum gloriabimur sed secundum mensuram regulae quam mensus est nobis Deus mensuram pertingendi usque ad vos
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 non enim quasi non pertingentes ad vos superextendimus nos usque ad vos enim pervenimus in evangelio Christi
[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 non in inmensum gloriantes in alienis laboribus spem autem habentes crescentis fidei vestrae in vobis magnificari secundum regulam nostram in abundantiam
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 etiam in illa quae ultra vos sunt evangelizare non in aliena regula in his quae praeparata sunt gloriari
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 qui autem gloriatur in Domino glorietur
[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 non enim qui se ipsum commendat ille probatus est sed quem Dominus commendat
[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.
