2 Corinthians 10:4-16
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 10
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.
12For we do not presume to rank or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they have no understanding.
13But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the domain which God assigned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you.
14For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for we were the first to come even as far as you in the gospel of Christ;
15not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other people’s labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our domain, enlarged even more by you,
16so as to preach the gospel even to the regions beyond you, and not to boast in what has been accomplished in the domain of another.
King James Version
Chapter 10
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.
12For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
13But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
14For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
15Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
16To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 10
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.
12For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding.
13We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even to you.
14For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ.
15We are not boasting beyond measure about other people’s labors. On the contrary, we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged,
16so that we may preach the gospel to the regions beyond you without boasting about what has already been done in someone else’s area of ministry.
New Living Translation
Chapter 10
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.
13We 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.
14We 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.
15Nor 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.
16Then 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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 10
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.
13But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.
14For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.
15We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged,
16so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another 's area of influence.
New International Version
Chapter 10
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.
12We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
13We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.
14We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.
15Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,
16so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory.
New King James Version
Chapter 10
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.
12For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
13We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you.
14For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ;
15not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere,
16to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.
