1 B ut I myself, Paul, entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of the Christ, who, as to appearance, mean among you, but absent am bold towards you;

I, Paul, ask you this myself. I do it through Christ Who is so gentle and kind. Some people say that I am gentle and quiet when I am with you, but that I have no fear and that my language is strong when I am away from you.

2 b ut I beseech that present I may not be bold with the confidence with which I think to be daring towards some who think of us as walking according to flesh.

Do not make me speak strong words to you when I come. Some people think we want the things of the world because of what we do and say. I have decided to talk to these people if I have to.

3 F or walking in flesh, we do not war according to flesh.

It is true, we live in a body of flesh. But we do not fight like people of the world.

4 F or the arms of our warfare not fleshly, but powerful according to God to overthrow of strongholds;

We do not use those things to fight with that the world uses. We use the things God gives to fight with and they have power. Those things God gives to fight with destroy the strong-places of the devil.

5 o verthrowing reasonings and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God, and leading captive every thought into the obedience of the Christ;

We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.

6 a nd having in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience shall have been fulfilled.

We are ready to punish those who will not obey as soon as you obey in everything.

7 D o ye look at what concerns appearance? If any one has confidence in himself that he is of Christ, let him think this again in himself, that even as he of Christ, so also we.

You are seeing things only as men see them. If anyone feels sure he belongs to Christ, he should remember that we belong to Christ also.

8 F or and if I should boast even somewhat more abundantly of our authority, which the Lord has given for building up and not for your overthrowing, I shall not be put to shame;

I am not ashamed if I say this of myself. The Lord gave me the right and the power to help you become stronger, not to break you down.

9 t hat I may not seem as if I was frightening you by letters:

I do not want you to think I am trying to make you afraid with my letters.

10 b ecause his letters, he says, weighty and strong, but his presence in the body weak, and his speech naught.

They say, “His letters are strong and they make us think. When he is here with us, he is weak and he is hard to listen to.”

11 L et such a one think this, that such as we are in word by letters absent, such also present in deed.

What we say in our letters we will do when we get there. They should understand this.

12 F or we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves; but these, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are not intelligent.

We do not compare ourselves with those who think they are good. They compare themselves with themselves. They decide what they think is good or bad and compare themselves with those ideas. They are foolish.

13 N ow we will not boast out of measure, but according to the measure of the rule which the God of measure has apportioned to us, to reach to you also.

But we will not talk with pride more than God allows us to. We will follow the plan of the work He has given us to do and you are a part of that work.

14 F or we do not, as not reaching to you, overstretch ourselves, (for we have come to you also in the glad tidings of the Christ;)

We did not go farther than we were supposed to go when we came to you. But we did come to you with the Good News of Christ.

15 n ot boasting out of measure in other people's labours, but having hope, your faith increasing, to be enlarged amongst you, according to our rule, yet more abundantly

We take no pride in the work others have done there. But we hope your faith will keep growing because of help from others. Then we will grow because of you.

16 t o announce the glad tidings to that beyond you, not to be boasting in another's rule of things made ready to hand.

We hope to preach the Good News in the countries on the other side of you. Then we would take no pride in work done by another person in another country.

17 B ut he that boasts, let him boast in the Lord.

If anyone wants to be proud, he should be proud of what the Lord has done.

18 F or not he that commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

It is not what a man thinks and says of himself that is important. It is what God thinks of him.