2 Corinthians 10
The full text of 2 Corinthians 10 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you, I, Paul, who am 'timid' when face to face with you, but 'bold' toward you when away!
2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
7 You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.
8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.
9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.
10 For some say, 'His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.'
11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.
14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.
15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,
16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else's territory.
17 But, 'Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.'
18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Translation notes (5)
- 2 Corinthians 10:1a The quotation marks signal that Paul is echoing his critics' own charge: tapeinos (ταπεινός), 'lowly' or 'abject', described his demeanor in person, while tharrō (θαρρῶ), 'I am bold', mocked the severity of his letters. He counters the taunt by appealing to prautēs, 'gentleness', and epieikeia, 'forbearance', qualities of Christ himself.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4a The Greek ochyrōma (ὀχύρωμα), 'stronghold', appears only here in the New Testament and evokes a fortified citadel besieged and torn down, the sense of kathairesis, 'demolition'. Paul thus casts his ministry as siege warfare against entrenched opposition. The phrase rendered "of the world" is literally sarkika, 'fleshly'.
- 2 Corinthians 10:10a The Greek phrase parousia tou sōmatos asthenēs is literally 'the presence of the body is weak', and exouthenēmenos, 'despised' or 'counted as nothing', describes his speech. Paul thus quotes his Corinthian critics in their own words, contrasting the force of his letters with his personal bearing and unpolished delivery.
- 2 Corinthians 10:13a Greek kanon (κανών), literally a 'measuring rod' or 'rule', here denotes the boundary or jurisdiction God marked out for Paul's mission, rendered here as 'sphere of service'. The word later gave English its term 'canon'. Paul's point is that his boast stays within a divinely assigned territory that legitimately encompasses Corinth.
- 2 Corinthians 10:17a Paul quotes Jeremiah 9:24 in a form close to the Septuagint, where boasting in knowing the Lord is set against boasting in wisdom, might or riches. He cites the same text in 1 Corinthians 1:31. The Greek verb kauchaomai, 'to boast', runs throughout chapters 10 through 12, framing Paul's defense of his ministry against rivals who commend themselves.
About this translation
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