²⁰ I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.

Longing to See Them

¹⁷ But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time ^(A)in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. ¹⁸ Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but ^(B)Satan hindered us.

⁹ For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God,

^19 (A)But I will come to you shortly, ^(B)if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. ²⁰ For ^(C)the kingdom of God is not in word but in ^(D)power. ²¹ What do you want? ^(E)Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?