| International Standard Version | King James Bible |
| 1Now I myself, Paul, plead with you with the gentleness and kindness of the Messiah —I who am humble when I am face to face with you but forceful toward you when I am away! | 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: |
| 2I beg you that when I come I will not need to be courageous by daring to oppose some people who think that we are living according to the flesh. | 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. |
| 3Of course, we are living in the world, but we do not wage war in a world-like way. | 3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: |
| 4For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments | 4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) |
| 5and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey the Messiah. | 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; |
| 6Once your obedience is complete, we will be ready to reprimand every type of disobedience. | 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. |
| 7Look at the plain facts! If anyone is confident that he belongs to the Messiah, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to the Messiah, so do we. | 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. |
| 8So if I boast a little too much about our authority, which the Lord gave us to build you up and not to tear you down, I will not be ashamed of it. | 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: |
| 9I do not want you to think that I am trying to frighten you with my letters. | 9That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. |
| 10For someone is saying, "His letters are impressive and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible." | 10For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. |
| 11Someone like this should take note of the following: What we say by letter when we are absent is what we will do when present! | 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. |
| 12We would not dare put ourselves in the same class with, or compare ourselves to, those who recommend themselves. Whenever they measure themselves by their own standards or compare themselves among themselves, they show how foolish they are. | 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. |
| 13We will not boast about what cannot be evaluated. Instead, we will stay within the field that God assigned us, so as to reach even you. | 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 it is not as though we were overstepping our limits when we came to you. We were the first to reach you with the gospel of the Messiah. | 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: |
| 15We are not boasting about work done by others that cannot be evaluated. On the contrary, we cherish the hope that your faith may continue to grow and enlarge our sphere of action among you until it overflows. | 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, |
| 16Then we can preach the gospel in the regions far beyond you without boasting about things already accomplished by someone else. | 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. |
| 17"The person who boasts should boast in the Lord." | 17But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. |
| 18It is not the person who commends himself who is approved, but the person whom the Lord commends. | 18For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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