2 Corinthians 10:1

Now I, Paul, appeal to you ¹  personally ²  by the meekness and gentleness ³  of Christ (I who am meek ⁴  when present among ⁵  you, but am full of courage ⁶  toward you when away!) –

By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you— I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away!

Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent!

Now I, Paul, plead with you. I plead with the gentleness and kindness that Christ himself would use, even though some of you say I am bold in my letters but timid in person.

And now a personal but most urgent matter; I write in the gentle but firm spirit of Christ. I hear that I'm being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when I'm with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters.

Now I, Paul, myself make request to you by the quiet and gentle behaviour of Christ, I who am poor in spirit when with you, but who say what is in my mind to you without fear when I am away from you:

I myself, Paul, appeal to 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! —

Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ––who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.

Now I, Paul, appeal to you ¹  personally ²  by the meekness and gentleness ³  of Christ (I who am meek ⁴  when present among ⁵  you, but am full of courage ⁶  toward you when away!) –

¹ tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.

² tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.

³ tn Or “leniency and clemency.” D. Walker, “Paul’s Offer of Leniency of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:1): Populist Ideology and Rhetoric in a Pauline Letter Fragment (2 Cor 10:1-13:10)” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1998), argues for this alternative translation for three main reasons: (1) When the two Greek nouns πραΰτης and ἐπιείκεια (prauth" and ejpieikeia) are used together, 90% of the time the nuance is “leniency and clemency.” (2) “Leniency and clemency” has a military connotation, which is precisely what appears in the following verses. (3) 2 Cor 10-13 speaks of Paul’s sparing use of his authority, which points to the nuance of “leniency and clemency.”

⁴ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

⁵ tn Or “when face to face with.”

⁶ tn Or “but bold.”