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2 Corinthians 10:1-6
New English Translation

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10 Now I, Paul, appeal to you[a] personally[b] by the meekness and gentleness[c] of Christ (I who am meek[d] when present among[e] you, but am full of courage[f] toward you when away!)— 2 now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving[g] according to human standards.[h] 3 For though we live[i] as human beings,[j] we do not wage war according to human standards,[k] 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons,[l] but are made powerful by God[m] for tearing down strongholds.[n] We tear down arguments[o] 5 and every arrogant obstacle[p] that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey[q] Christ. 6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience,[r] whenever your obedience is complete.

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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.”
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2 Corinthians 10:1-6
Lexham English Bible

Paul’s Ministry Defended

10 Now I, Paul, appeal to you myself by the humility and gentleness of Christ, who when I am present in person[a] am humble among you, but when I[b] am absent am bold toward you— 2 now I ask when I[c] am present that I will not need to be bold with the confidence with which I propose to show boldness toward some who consider us as behaving according to the flesh. 3 For although we[d] are living in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but powerful to God for the tearing down of fortresses, tearing down arguments 5 and all pride that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 6 And we are ready[e] to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is completed.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 10:1 Literally “to the face”
  2. 2 Corinthians 10:1 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“am absent”) which is understood as temporal
  3. 2 Corinthians 10:2 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“am present”) which is understood as temporal
  4. 2 Corinthians 10:3 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are living”) which is understood as concessive
  5. 2 Corinthians 10:6 Literally “having with ready”
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