2 Corinthians 10:2-12
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 10
2I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I intend to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, 4for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
7You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, have him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so too are we.
8For if I boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame,
9for I do not want to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters.
10For they say, 'His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.'
11Have such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.
King James Version
Chapter 10
2But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
7Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.
8For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
9That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
10For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
11Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 10
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 according to the flesh. 3For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, 4since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 6And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
7Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, let him remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we.
8For if I boast a little too much about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be put to shame.
9I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters.
10For it is said, "His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing."
11Let such a person consider this: What we are in our letters, when we are absent, we will also be in our actions when we are present.
New Living Translation
3We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do.
4We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
5We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
6And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.
7Look at the obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do.
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’m not trying to frighten you by my letters.
10For some say, 'Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!'
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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 10
2I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
7Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ 's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ 's, so also are we.
8For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed.
9I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters.
10For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account."
11Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present.
12Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
New International Version
Chapter 10
2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
7You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.
8So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.
9I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.
10For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing."
11Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
New King James Version
Chapter 10
2But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
7Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s.
8For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed—
9lest I seem to terrify you by letters.
10“For his letters,” they say, “ are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”
11Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.
