2 Corintios 10
1 Yo mismo, Pablo, los insto personalmente, por la bondad y la ternura de Cristo. El mismo Pablo que es “tímido” cuando está con ustedes, pero que es “osado” cuando no está allá.
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 Les ruego para que la próxima vez que esté con ustedes, no tenga que ser tan duro como pienso que tendré que ser, confrontando abiertamente a los que piensan que nosotros nos comportamos de forma mundana.
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 Aunque vivimos en este mundo, no peleamos como el mundo.
[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 Nuestras armas no son de este mundo, pero tenemos el poder de Dios que destruye fortalezas del pensamiento humano, y derriba teorías engañosas.
[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 Todo muro que se interpone contra el conocimiento de Dios es derribado. Todo pensamiento rebelde es capturado y conducido a un acuerdo de obediencia a Cristo.
[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 Cuando ustedes estén obedeciendo a Cristo por completo, entonces estaremos listos para castigar cualquier desobediencia.
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 ¡Miren lo que tienen delante de sus ojos! Todo el que crea que pertenece a Cristo debe pensarlo dos veces, porque así como ellos pertenecen a Cristo, nosotros también le pertenecemos.
[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 Aunque pareciera que me enorgullezco mucho de nuestra autoridad, no me avergüenzo de ello. El Señor nos dio esta autoridad para edificarlos a ustedes, no para destruirlos.
[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 No intento asustarlos con mis cartas.
I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].
10 La gente dice: “Sus cartas son duras y severas, pero en persona es débil, y es un orador inútil”.
[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 Este tipo de personas deberían comprender que lo que decimos por cartas cuando no estamos allá, lo haremos cuando sí estemos allá.
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 No somos tan arrogantes como para compararnos con los que se tienen en un concepto muy alto. ¡Los que se miden a sí mismos, y se comparan consigo mismos, son totalmente necios!
[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 Pero no nos jactamos con términos extravagantes que no puedan medirse. Sencillamente medimos lo que hemos hecho usando el sistema de medida que Dios nos ha dado, y eso los incluye a ustedes.
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 No estamos abusando de nuestra autoridad al decir esto, como si no hubiéramos estado entre ustedes, porque realmente sí estuvimos allí y compartimos con ustedes la buena noticia de Cristo.
[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 Nosotros no nos estamos jactando con términos extravagantes que no puedan medirse, reclamando crédito por lo que otros han hecho. Por el contrario, esperamos que a medida que su fe en Dios aumenta, nuestra obra entre ustedes crezca en gran manera.
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 Entonces podremos compartir la buena noticia en lugares que están más allá, sin jactarnos de lo que ya ha sido hecho por otros.
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 “Si alguno quiere jactarse, que se jacte en el Señor”.
[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 No reciben respeto los que se elogian a sí mismos, sino a los que el Señor elogia.
[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.
