2 Corinthians 10:12-18
New Living Translation
12 Oh, 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!
13 We 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. 14 We 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.
15 Nor 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. 16 Then 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. 17 As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”[a]
18 When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.
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2 Corinthians 10:12-18
New English Translation
Paul’s Mission
12 For we would not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.[a] 13 But we will not boast beyond certain limits,[b] but will confine our boasting[c] according to the limits of the work to which God has appointed us,[d] that reaches even as far as you. 14 For we were not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach as far as you, because we were the first to reach as far as you with the gospel about Christ.[e] 15 Nor do we boast beyond certain limits[f] in the work[g] done by others, but we hope[h] that as your faith continues to grow, our work may be greatly expanded[i] among you according to our limits,[j] 16 so that we may preach the gospel in the regions that lie beyond you, and not boast of work already done in another person’s area. 17 But the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.[k] 18 For it is not the person who commends himself who is approved, but the person the Lord commends.
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- 2 Corinthians 10:12 tn Or “they are unintelligent.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:13 tn Or “boast excessively.” The phrase εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα (eis ta ametra) is an idiom; literally it means “into that which is not measured,” that is, a point on a scale that goes beyond what might be expected (L&N 78.27).
- 2 Corinthians 10:13 tn The words “will confine our boasting” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to boasting must be repeated from the previous clause to clarify for the modern reader what is being limited.
- 2 Corinthians 10:13 tn Grk “according to the measure of the rule which God has apportioned to us as a measure”; for the translation used in the text see L&N 37.100.
- 2 Corinthians 10:14 tn Grk “with the gospel of Christ,” but since Χριστοῦ (Christou) is clearly an objective genitive here, it is better to translate “with the gospel about Christ.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:15 tn Or “boast excessively.” The phrase εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα (eis ta ametra) is an idiom; literally it means “into that which is not measured,” that is, a point on a scale that goes beyond what might be expected (L&N 78.27).
- 2 Corinthians 10:15 tn Or “in the labors.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:15 tn Grk “but we have the hope.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:15 tn Or “greatly enlarged.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:15 tn That is, Paul’s work might be greatly expanded within the area of activity assigned to him by God.
- 2 Corinthians 10:17 tn The traditional translation (“let the one who boasts boast in the Lord”) can be understood as merely permissive by the English reader, but the Greek verb καυχάσθω (kauchasthō) is a third person imperative.sn A quotation from Jer 9:24 (also quoted in 1 Cor 1:31).
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