| Holman Christian Standard Bible | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ--I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. | 1Now by the mildness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when away. |
| 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 in an unspiritual way. | 2I beg you that when I come I may not need to be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh. |
| 3For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, | 3For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. |
| 4since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments | 4The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. |
| 5and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. | 5We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. |
| 6And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience has been confirmed. | 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as your obedience is complete. |
| 7Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we. | 7You are looking at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that we belong to Christ just as much as he does. |
| 8For if I boast some more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I am not ashamed. | 8For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed. |
| 9I don't want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters. | 9I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you by my letters. |
| 10For it is said, "His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable." | 10For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.” |
| 11Such a person should consider this: What we are in the words of our letters when absent, we will be in actions when present. | 11Such people should consider that what we are in our letters when absent, we will be in our actions when 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. | 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 show their ignorance. |
| 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. | 13We, however, will not boast beyond our limits, but only within the field of influence that God has assigned to us—a field that 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. | 14We are not overstepping our bounds, as if we had not come to you. Indeed, we were the first to reach you with the gospel of Christ. |
| 15We are not bragging beyond measure about other people's labors. But we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged, | 15Neither do we boast beyond our limits in the labors of others. But we hope that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you will greatly increase as well, |
| 16so that we may proclaim the good news to the regions beyond you, not boasting about what has already been done in someone else's area of ministry. | 16so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. Then we will not be boasting in the work already done in another man’s territory. |
| 17So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord. | 17Rather, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” |
| 18For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends. | 18For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. |
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