¹ Now, I—Paul myself, who seem unimpressive when I’m with you but confident when I’m away—appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness^a of Christ. ² I beg you not to make me need that confidence while I’m there; however, I assume I can’t avoid it with some who assume we walk according to self-serving interests.^b ³ You see, though we walk in bodies,^c we don’t go on the march^d according to self-serving impulses^e ⁴ because the tools^f of our campaign are not self-serving^g but are empowered by God for tearing down fortresses—dismantling assumptions ⁵ and every barrier raised against the understanding of God,^h driving every pattern of thought toward the Christlike way of humble responsivenessⁱ ⁶ and being ready to promote justice^j for every refusal to respond humbly,^k once your humble responsiveness is brought to fullness.

⁷ You’re looking at things based on social status.^l If someone is convinced they are connected with Christ, they should again assume that just as they are with Christ, so are we. ⁸ Even if I brag a little too much about our right The One Who Is^m gave us—to build you up, not to tear you down—I won’t be made to feel ashamed of it. ⁹ I’m saying this so that it won’t seem as if I’m trying to scare you away with my letters. ¹⁰ You see, people are saying, “Even though his letters are weighty and strong, the appearance of his body is weak, and his message is treated as worthless.” ¹¹ Anyone like that should assume that the kind of people we are in words through our letters when we’re absent is exactly who we are in actions when we’re present.

¹² We wouldn’t dare count ourselves among, or compare ourselves with, some of those who present themselves as legitimate.ⁿ In contrast, when people measure themselves against themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they’re missing the point. ¹³ We, on the other hand, will not brag endlessly but only^o within the measure of the boundary God assigned to us: specifically, reaching as far as you. ¹⁴ After all, it’s certainly not as if reaching all the way to you were overreaching for us since we did reach you with the triumphant message^p of Christ. ¹⁵ We don’t brag endlessly about labor done by others, but we hope that as your faithfulness grows among you, it will be expanded to overflowing beyond our boundary, ¹⁶ to bring the triumphant message to places beyond you, not to areas assigned to others so as to brag about things they already did. ¹⁷ “Whoever brags should brag about The One Who Is.”^q ¹⁸ You see, it’s not the one who presents themself as legitimate who is verified as genuine but the one whom The One Who Is presents as legitimate.

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2 Corinthians 9

2 Corinthians 11

FOOTNOTES:

a. The Greek word epieikeia is notoriously difficult to translate with a single English term. It refers to a kind of justice that is tempered by compassion, reasonableness, and flexibility in applying rules, which was a quality prized in ancient virtue ethics and legal contexts. Often translated as “gentleness,” “clemency,” or “forbearance,” it denotes a gracious restraint: the choice not to insist on strict rights or harsh consequences.
b. Traditionally, ‘according to the flesh’
c. Traditionally, ‘in the flesh’
d. The Greek verb strateuometha comes from strateuo, meaning “to serve as a soldier” or “to go on a campaign.”
e. Traditionally, ‘according to the flesh’
f. Traditionally, ‘weapons.’ While it does refer to gear used by soldiers, it included shields and armor, not only weapons.
g. Traditionally, ‘of the flesh’ or ‘carnal’ (fleshly)
h. The grammar provides no clues as to whether the “understanding of God” is the act of understanding God or the way of understanding that is possessed by God. The discussion of how people pay attention and making thought patterns be Christlike make a strong but not definitive case for it being the way God understands things.
i. The Greek word hupakoe is traditionally translated “obedience,” from the verb akouo (“to listen, hear”) and the prefix hupo- (“under”). Rather than connoting blind submission, it evokes the idea of responsive attentiveness and deep listening without placing oneself above others or above God, leading to alignment with justice.
j. Traditional translations render “promote justice” as “punish” which is only one of the ways the Greek word ekdikeo can be used. It can also be used in the more positive sense of protecting or defending another person against injustice or providing recompense for injustice that has already been done. The implication of this verse seems to be that once someone is willing to give their full attention to living justly, they will make things right for the people they harmed in the past. It’s not about punishing someone else’s wrongdoing but making up for one’s own previous wrongdoing.
k. Greek parakoe typically means “disobedience” or “refusal to hear.” This rendering emphasizes the relational and ethical contrast with hupakoe, not just hearing, but humbly aligning one’s attention and response with the path of Christ.
l. The phrase translated as “social status” is literally the word for “face” and is often translated as “appearance.” It’s not about a person’s looks so much as how they present themselves to the world around them and what it communicates about their social position.
m. “The One Who Is” is used to translate the Greek kurios (traditionally, “Lord”) when it refers to God, especially in Hebrew Bible quotations. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), kurios regularly replaces the Divine Name (YHWH)... [content unchanged]
n. Or ‘endorse’ or ‘commend’
o. The word ‘only’ is added for clarity.
p. Traditionally, ‘gospel’ or ‘good news.’ The word ‘gospel’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon term god-spell... [content unchanged]
q. Quotation of Jeremiah 9:24. Compare to 1 Corinthians 1:31.