| King James Bible | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: | 1Now I Paul, myself, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. |
| 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. | 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 though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: | 3For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, |
| 4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) | 4since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments |
| 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; | 5and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. |
| 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. | 6And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete. |
| 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. | 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 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: | 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. |
| 9That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. | 9I don't want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters. |
| 10For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. | 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 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 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: | 14For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with 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, | 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, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 17But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. | 17So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. |
| 18For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. | 18For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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