2 Corinthians 10 Now I, Paul, myself exhort you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who indeed as to appearance am humble among you, but being absent am bold toward you.

BLB⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Now I, Paul, myself exhort you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who indeed as to appearance am humble among you, but being absent am bold toward you. ² Now I implore you that being present, I need not to be bold with the confidence with which I reckon to be daring toward some reckoning us as walking according to flesh. ³ For walking in flesh, we do not wage war according to flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but divinely powerful toward the demolition of strongholds, ⁵ overthrowing arguments, and every high thing lifting itself up against the knowledge of God, and taking captive every thought into the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and having readiness within to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience may have been fulfilled. ⁷ You are looking at things according to appearance. If anyone is persuaded in himself to be of Christ, let him reckon this within himself again, that as he is of Christ, so also are we. ⁸ For even if I should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord has given us for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed, ⁹ so that I might not seem as if to frighten you by means of the letters. ¹⁰ For they say, “The letters indeed are weighty and strong, but the presence of the body is weak, and the speech having been ignored.” ¹¹ Let such a one reckon this, that such as we are in word by letters being absent, also such we are in action being present. ¹² For we dare not to classify or to compare ourselves with some commending themselves. But these, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves with themselves, do not understand. ¹³ But we will not boast into the things beyond measure, but according to the measure of the area that God has assigned to us, a measure to reach also as far as you. ¹⁴ For we are not overextending ourselves, as not reaching to you. For we came also as far as you in the gospel of Christ, ¹⁵ not boasting to the things beyond measure in others’ labors, but having hope of your faith increasing, to be enlarged to abundance among you according to our area, ¹⁶ so as to preach the gospel beyond you, not to boast in things already in another’s area. ¹⁷ But, “The one boasting, let him boast in the Lord.” ¹⁸ For the one commending himself, this one is not approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.