2 Corinthians 10:1-6

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Corinthians 10:1 tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.
2. 2 Corinthians 10:1 tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.
3. 2 Corinthians 10:1 tn Or “leniency and clemency.” D. Walker, “Paul’s Offer of Leniency of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:1): Populist Ideology and Rhetoric in a Pauline Letter Fragment (2 Cor 10:1-13:10)” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1998), argues for this alternative translation for three main reasons: (1) When the two Greek nouns πραΰτης and ἐπιείκεια (prautēs and epieikeia) are used together, 90% of the time the nuance is “leniency and clemency.” (2) “Leniency and clemency” has a military connotation, which is precisely what appears in the following verses. (3) 2 Cor 10-13 speaks of Paul’s sparing use of his authority, which points to the nuance of “leniency and clemency.”
4. 2 Corinthians 10:1 tn Or “who lack confidence.”
5. 2 Corinthians 10:1 tn Or “when face-to-face with.”
6. 2 Corinthians 10:1 tn Or “but bold.”
7. 2 Corinthians 10:2 tn Grk “consider us as walking.”
8. 2 Corinthians 10:2 tn Grk “according to the flesh.”
9. 2 Corinthians 10:3 tn Grk “we walk.”
10. 2 Corinthians 10:3 tn Grk “in the flesh.”
11. 2 Corinthians 10:3 tn Grk “according to the flesh.”
12. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tn Grk “are not fleshly [weapons].” The repetition of the word “warfare” does not occur in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.
13. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tn Or “but (are) divinely powerful,” “but they have divine power,” or “but are powerful for God’s [service]”; Grk “but are powerful to God.”
14. 2 Corinthians 10:4 sn Ultimately Paul is referring here to the false arguments of his opponents, calling them figuratively “strongholds.” This Greek word (ὀχύρωμα, ochurōma) is used only here in the NT.
15. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tn Or “speculations.”
16. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tn The phrase “every arrogant obstacle” could be translated simply “all arrogance” (so L&N 88.207).
17. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tn Grk “to the obedience of Christ,” but since Χριστοῦ (Christou) is clearly an objective genitive here, it is better to translate “to make it obey Christ.”
18. 2 Corinthians 10:6 tn Or “punish all disobedience.”