2Cor 10:1-13:10 | ESV | STEP | I , Paul , myself entreat you , by the meekness and gentleness of Christ —I who am humble when face to face with you , but bold toward you when I am away !

1 ^aI, Paul, myself entreat you, by the ^bmeekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you ^cthat when I am present I may not have to show ^dboldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the ^eweapons of ^four warfare are not of the flesh but have ^gdivine power ^hto destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and ⁱevery lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to ^jobey Christ, 6 ^kbeing ready to punish every disobedience, ^lwhen your obedience is complete.

7 ^mLook at what is before your eyes. ⁿIf anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as ^ohe is Christ’s, ^pso also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of ^qour authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but ^rhis bodily presence is weak, and ^shis speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or ^tcompare ourselves with some of those who ^uare commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are ^vwithout understanding.

13 But we will not boast ^wbeyond limits, but will ^xboast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, ^yto reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. ^zFor we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that ^aaas your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be ^abgreatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. 17 “Let ^acthe one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is ^adnot the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one ^aewhom the Lord commends.

2 Corinthians 11

Paul and the False Apostles

1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since ^afI betrothed you to one husband, ^agto present you ^ahas a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that ^aias the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts ^ajwill be led astray from a ^aksincere and ^alpure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and ^amproclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept ^ana different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 Indeed, I consider that ^aoI am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 ^apEven if I am unskilled in speaking, ^aqI am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way ^arwe have made this plain to you in all things.

7 Or ^asdid I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because ^atI preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was ^auin need, ^avI did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia ^awsupplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain ^axfrom burdening you in any way. 10 ^ayAs the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine ^azwill not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? ^baBecause I do not love you? ^bbGod knows I do!

12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, ^bcin order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are ^bdfalse apostles, ^bedeceitful workmen, ^bfdisguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as ^bgan angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as ^bhservants of righteousness. ^biTheir end will correspond to their deeds.

Paul’s Sufferings as an Apostle

16 I repeat, ^bjlet no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying ^bkwith this boastful confidence, ^blI say not as the Lord would ^{▼▼Greek not according to the Lord} but as a fool. 18 Since ^bnmany boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with fools, ^bobeing wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone ^bpmakes slaves of you, or ^bqdevours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or ^brstrikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, ^bswe were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? ^btSo am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ^buservants of Christ? ^bvI am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, ^bwfar more imprisonments, ^bxwith countless beatings, and ^byoften near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the ^bzforty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was ^cabeaten with rods. ^cbOnce I was stoned. Three times I ^ccwas shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, ^cddanger from my own people, ^cedanger from Gentiles, ^cfdanger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 ^cgin toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, ^chin hunger and thirst, often without food, ^{▼▼Or often in fasting} in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for ^cjall the churches. 29 ^ckWho is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 ^clIf I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 ^cmThe God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^cnhe who is blessed forever, ^coknows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas ^cpwas guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 ^cqbut I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

2 Corinthians 12

Paul’s Visions and His Thorn

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and ^crrevelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man ^csin Christ who fourteen years ago was ^ctcaught up to ^cuthe third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^cvGod knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into ^cwparadise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^cxGod knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, ^cyexcept of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, ^czI would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So ^dato keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, ^{▼▼Or hears from me, even because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited} ^dca thorn was given me in the flesh, ^dda messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 ^deThree times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, ^df“My grace is sufficient for you, for ^dgmy power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that ^dhthe power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 ^diFor the sake of Christ, then, ^djI am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For ^dkwhen I am weak, then I am strong.

Concern for the Corinthian Church

11 ^dlI have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was ^dmnot at all inferior to these super-apostles, ^dneven though I am nothing. 12 ^doThe signs of a true apostle were performed among you ^dpwith utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that ^dqI myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

14 Here ^drfor the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for ^dsI seek not what is yours but you. For ^dtchildren are not obligated to save up for their parents, but ^duparents for their children. 15 ^dvI will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If ^dwI love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that ^dxI myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you ^dythrough any of those whom I sent to you? 18 ^dzI urged Titus to go, and sent ^eathe brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is ^ebin the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and ^ecall for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps ^edwhen I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those ^eewho sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, ^efsexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

2 Corinthians 13:1-10

Final Warnings

1 ^egThis is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established ^ehby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 2 ^eiI warned ^ejthose who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that ^ekif I come again I will not spare them— 3 since you seek proof that Christ ^elis speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but ^emis powerful among you. 4 For ^enhe was crucified in weakness, but ^eolives by the power of God. For ^epwe also are weak in him, but in dealing with you ^eqwe will live with him by the power of God.

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. ^erTest yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that ^esJesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when ^etwe are weak and you are strong. Your ^eurestoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come ^evI may not have to be ^ewsevere in my use of ^exthe authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.