| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ--I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. | 1Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. |
| 2I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are behaving in an unspiritual way. | 2Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives. |
| 3For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, | 3We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. |
| 4since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments | 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. |
| 5and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. | 5We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. |
| 6And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience has been confirmed. | 6And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient. |
| 7Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we. | 7Look at the obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. |
| 8For if I boast some more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I am not ashamed. | 8I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority. |
| 9I don't want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters. | 9I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters. |
| 10For it is said, "His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable." | 10For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” |
| 11Such a person should consider this: What we are in the words of our letters when absent, we will be in actions when present. | 11Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away. |
| 12For we don't dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding. | 12Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant! |
| 13We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even to you. | 13We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. |
| 14For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ. | 14We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ. |
| 15We are not bragging beyond measure about other people's labors. But we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged, | 15Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. |
| 16so that we may proclaim the good news to the regions beyond you, not boasting about what has already been done in someone else's area of ministry. | 16Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. |
| 17So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord. | 17As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.” |
| 18For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends. | 18When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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