Yes, I beg you that I may not, when present, show courage with the confidence with which I intend to be bold against some, who consider us to be walking according to the flesh.
Parallel Translations
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Yes, I beg you that I may not, when present, show courage with the confidence with which I intend to be bold against some, who consider us to be walking according to the flesh.
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I besech you that I nede not to be bolde when I am present (with that same confidence wher with I am supposed to be bolde) agaynst some which repute vs as though we walked carnally.
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And this I require you, that I neede not to be bolde when I am present, with that same confidence, wherewith I thinke to bee bolde against some, which esteeme vs as though wee walked according to the flesh.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 10:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 13:10 For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for tearing down.
- 2 Corinthians 13:2 I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before now, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare;
- Galatians 5:16-25 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.
- Ephesians 2:2-3 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience. We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
- 1 Corinthians 4:18-21 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
- 2 Corinthians 12:13-20 For what is there in which you were made inferior to the rest of the assemblies, unless it is that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong. Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I seek not your possessions, but you. For the children ought not to save up for the parents, but the parents for the children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less? Even so, I myself didn’t burden you. “But, being crafty, I caught you with deception.” Did I take advantage of you by anyone of those whom I have sent to you? I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit? Didn’t we walk in the same steps? Again, do you think that we are excusing ourselves to you? In the sight of God we speak in Christ. But all things, beloved, are for your edifying. For I am afraid that by any means, when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you don’t desire, that by any means there would be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, whisperings, proud thoughts, or riots,
- Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
- Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 11:9-13 When I was present with you and was in need, I wasn’t a burden on anyone, for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my need. In everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and I will continue to do so. As the truth of Christ is in me, no one will stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows. But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from those who desire an occasion, that in which they boast, they may be found even as we. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 2. I beseech you, that I may not be…
2. I beseech you, that I may not be bold, when I am present. Some think, that the discourse is incomplete, and that he does not express the matter of his request. I am rather of opinion, however, that what was wanting in the former clause is here completed, so that it is a general exhortation. “Show yourselves docile and tractable towards me, that I may not be constrained to be more severe.” It is the duty of a good pastor to allure his sheep peacefully and kindly, that they may allow themselves to be governed, rather than to constrain them by violence. Severity, it is true, is, I acknowledge, sometimes necessary, but we must always set out with gentleness, and persevere in it, so long as the hearer shews himself tractable. Severity must be the last resource. “We must,” says he, “try all methods, before having recourse to rigor; nay more, let us never be rigorous, unless we are constrained to it.” In the mean time, as to their reckoning themselves pusillanimous and timid, when he had to come to close quarters, he intimates that they were mistaken as to this, when he declares that he will stoutly resist face to face the contumacious “They despise me,” says he, “as if I were a pusillanimous person, but they will find that I am braver and more courageous than they could have wished, when they come to contend in good earnest.” From this we see, when it is time to act with severity — after we have found, on trial being made, that allurements and mildness have no good effect. “I shall do it with reluctance,” says Paul, “but still I have determined to do it.” Here is an admirable medium; for as we must, in so far as is in our power, draw men rather than drive them, so, when mildness has no effect, in dealing with those that are stern and refractory, rigor must of necessity be resorted to: otherwise it will not be moderation, nor equableness of temper, but criminal cowardice.
Who account of us. Erasmus renders it — “Those who think that we walk, as it were, according to the flesh.” The Old Interpreter came nearer, in my opinion, to Paul’s true meaning — “Qui nos arbitrantur, tanquam secundum carnem ambulemus;” — (“Those who think of us as though we walked according to the flesh;” ) though, at the same time, the phrase is not exactly in accordance with the Latin idiom, nor does it altogether bring out the Apostle’s full meaning. For λογιζεσθαι is taken here to mean — reckoning or esteeming. “They think of us,” says Paul, “or they take this view of us, as though we walked according to the flesh.”
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To walk according to the flesh, Chrysostom explains to mean — acting unfaithfully, or conducting one’s self improperly in his office; and, certainly, it is taken in this sense in various instances in Paul’s writings. The term flesh, however, I rather understand to mean — outward pomp or show, by which alone the false Apostles are accustomed to recommend themselves. Paul, therefore, complains of the unreasonableness of those who looked for nothing in him except the flesh, that is, visible appearance, as they speak, or in the usual manner of persons who devote all their efforts to ambition. For as Paul did not by any means excel in such endowments, as ordinarily procure praise or reputation among the children of this world, (Luke 16:8,) he was despised as though he had been one of the common herd. But by whom? Certainly, by the ambitious, who estimated him from mere appearance, while they paid no regard to what lay concealed within.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain As though I had no other aid and help…
As though I had no other aid and help than that which outwardly I seem to have: and therefore Paul setteth his flesh, that is, his weak condition and state, against his spiritual and Apostolic dignity.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2 But I beseech you, that I may not…
2 But 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.
Ver. 2. That I may not be bold] That you necessitate me not. Non nisi coactus hoc facio, said that emperor that subscribed a warrant to put one to death.
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With that confidence] It was but confidence, but they made the worst of it, and called it boldness, Quam vitio verterunt. Evil will never speaks well.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain It is true, (saith the apostle), when I have…
It is true, (saith the apostle), when I have been with you I have made it my business to behave myself with all obliging sweetness, not using that authority which I might have used; and I beseech you, as not to blame me for that, (remembering the meekness and gentleness of Christ), so by your conversation not to force me to another kind of conversation amongst you; that you would not constrain me to a severer behaviour towards you when I am present with you, to be so free with some of you, as at present I am resolved to be; such, I mean, as have traduced me, as if I
walked according to the flesh, that is, not guided by the Holy Spirit of God, and the directions of his word, but by some external, carnal considerations, respecting my own profit, pleasure, or reputation, indulging my own passions or corrupt affections. Walking after the flesh is opposed to a walking after the Spirit, Rom 8:1. He walketh after the flesh, to whom the fleshly appetite is the principle, rule, and end of his actions; as he, on the contrary, to whom those habits of grace which are wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit himself more immediately by his motions or impulses, are the principle of his actions, and the word dictated by the Spirit is the rule of his actions, and the glory of God is the end of his actions, is truly said to walk after the Spirit.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But I beseech you, that I may not be…
But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present,.... That is, he entreated them that they would so behave for the future, that he might have no occasion, when he came among them, to use that power and authority they called boldness, which he had received from Christ for edification, and not destruction; as for that asperity and roughness with which he wrote, and which was thought to be too severe, it was in order to reclaim them, and so prevent that sharpness he was empowered by Christ to use: for though he had said in his former epistle, Co1 4:21 "shall I come unto you with a rod or in love? and in the spirit of meekness?" he chose to come in the latter, rather than with the former; namely, not
with that confidence wherewith, says he,
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I think to be bold: by "confidence" he means the faith of miracles he was possessed of, and particularly the power he, and other apostles had, of striking dead or blind incorrigible offenders, or of delivering them to Satan to undergo some corporeal punishment; which he had been thinking of, and reasoning about in his own mind, and was almost come to a conclusion concerning it, to inflict it upon, and with it to be bold,
against some which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh; who not barely thought so within themselves, but reasoned the matter with others, and would fain persuade them to believe that they did walk in a carnal manner; not that they had the face to say, that they walked after the dictates of corrupt nature, or lived in open vice and profaneness; but that they walked in craftiness, had their conversation in the world with fleshly wisdom, seeking their own worldly interest and secular advantage; which is denied by the apostle, Co2 1:12 and was the real case, and true picture of the false teachers themselves.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Do not constrain me when present to be bold…
Do not constrain me when present to be bold - To exert my apostolical authority. Who think of us as walking after the flesh - As acting in a cowardly or crafty manner.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. Some, which think of us as if…
Verse 2. Some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.] As it is customary for cowards and overbearing men to threaten the weak and the timid when present; to bluster when absent; and to be very obsequious in the presence of the strong and courageous. This conduct they appear to have charged against the apostle, which he calls here walking after the flesh- acting as a man who had worldly ends in view, and would use any means in order to accomplish them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain That I may not be bold - I entreat…
That I may not be bold - I entreat you so to act that I may not have occasion to exercise the severity which I fear I shall be compelled to use against those who accuse me of being governed wholly by worldly motives and policy. In other words, that I may not be compelled to be bold and decisive in my measures by your improper conduct.
Which think of us - Margin, “reckon.” They suppose this; or, they accuse me of it. By the word “us” here Paul means himself, though it is possible also that he speaks in the name of his fellow apostles and laborers who were associated with him, and the objections may have referred to all who acted with him.
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As if we walked - As if we lived or acted. The word “walk” in the Scriptures is often used to denote the course or manner of life; see the Rom 4:12, note; 2Co 5:7, note.
According to the flesh - see the note on 2Co 1:17. As if we were governed by the weak and corrupt principles of human nature. As if we had no higher motive than carnal and worldly policy. As if we were seeking our own advantage and not the welfare of the world. The charge was, probably, that he was not governed by high and holy principles, but by the principles of mere worldly policy; that he was guided by personal interests, and by worldly views - by ambition, or the love of dominion, wealth, or popularity, and that he was destitute of every supernatural endowment and every evidence of a divine commission.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain I beg of you now to hear my apology,…
I beg of you now to hear my apology, that I may not be obliged to make us of my authority, when present among you, which they say I have abused, and usurped over you. There is in this discourse a little irony against the facility with which the Corinthians heard the enemies of St. Paul. He alludes to those false teachers who decried his doctrine, by preaching up the observance of the ceremonial parts of the law, for they were Jews, and had introduced many new practices into the Church. We may here take notice, that these observations are applicable to the epistles of St. Paul to the Galatians, and Philippians, for they are the same false teachers whom he there attacks, and who accused St. Paul of being a hypocrite, a seducer, in a word, one who walked according to the flesh. (Estius and St. John Chrysostom)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain I beseech you--Intimating that, as he can beseech in…
I beseech you--Intimating that, as he can beseech in letters, so he can be severe in their presence.
that I may not be--that I may not have to be bold, &c.
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with that confidence--that authoritative sternness.
I think--I am minded to be.
as if we walked according to the flesh--His Corinthian detractors judged of him by themselves, as if he were influenced by fleshly motives, the desire of favor or fear of giving offense, so as not to exercise his authority when present.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. But, here, may be omitted in thought; and…
2. But, here, may be omitted in thought; and I beseech you is a reiteration (though a different Greek word) of the same phrase in the previous verse. That, is essentially dependent upon beseech you, in 2Co_10:1. Paul begs that he may not need to be bold; especially may not be obliged to display a boldness destructive to his assailants.
Confidence—Official, apostolic firmness.
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Some—This some is the arraigned, but unnamed, party of assailants.
According to the flesh—As a false apostle, deceiving the people for my own self-interest.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. I beseech you, that I may not be…
2. I beseech you, that I may not be bold] Literally, I entreat the not being bold. Compliance or non-compliance with this request rested entirely with the Corinthians. The word here translated beseech is not the same as the one used in the last verse.
with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold] It does not clearly appear from this passage what St Paul meant to do when he arrived at Corinth. He speaks of ‘pulling down of strongholds,’ of ‘casting down whatever exalteth itself’ against Christ. But he never says what he intends to do. Calvin (1) interprets the passage of excommunication. Others (2) of bodily punishments, such as those inflicted on Elymas (Act_13:6-11), or on Ananias and Sapphira (Act_5:1-10). Or (3) we may regard it as referring to the authoritative proclamation of the Gospel by one fully inspired, which must of necessity bring about in the end the disappearance of error. This is thought to be implied by 2Co_10:11, which implies the immediate exercise when present, of the same power which when absent is exercised by letter. But a comparison of 2Co_10:11 with 1Co_4:21; 1Co_5:1-5 would lead to the idea of a formal delivery over to Satan of those who wilfully corrupted the doctrine of Christ, and gainsaid the authority of His Apostle. See note on 1Co_5:5. The word rendered ‘bold’ here is not the same as that in the former part of the verse. It implies (1) to dare, (2) to bear oneself boldly, i.e. to others, while the former word seems to imply confidence in oneself.
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against some] i.e. the false teachers.
according to the flesh] See ch. 2Co_5:16; Rom_8:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) But I beseech you . . .—There is,…
(2) But I beseech you . . .—There is, of course, an implied warning, almost a menace, in the entreaty. He would fain be spared the necessity for boldness when he and those of whom he speaks meet face to face; but if the necessity comes it will be the worse for them. They “reckon” him as walking “after the flesh,” with low and selfish aims and tortuous arts. (Comp. 2Co_1:17; Rom_8:12-13; 1Co_1:26.) He “reckons” that he has daring enough to confront those who take that estimate of him.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain I beseech you. The "beseech" is here right (deomai).…
I beseech you. The "beseech" is here right (deomai). The "you" is not in the Greek, but is rightly supplied. It rests with them to avert the necessity of personal severity, and he entreats them to do so. (comp. 2Co_13:2, 2Co_13:10; 1Co_4:21) Against some. He leaves these undefined till the vehement outburst of 2Co_11:13, 2Co_11:14. As if we walked according to the flesh. (see note on 2Co_5:16) To say this of St. Paul was to charge him with being insincere and not disinterested.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 2. I beseech you. He asks that, when he…
2. I beseech you. He asks that, when he comes, he may not have to exercise that boldness which he fears he will have to use in censuring some opposers. He desires that all may so act that he can be lowly and gentle when present. As if we walked according to the flesh. Were led by worldly motives.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain yea, I beseech you, that I may not when…
yea, I beseech you, that I may not when present show courage with the confidence wherewith I count to be bold against some, who count of us as if we walked according to the flesh . [Hitherto the apostle had associated Timothy as a joint author of this letter, but as he now prepares to deal with his enemies and matters personal to himself, he disengages himself from all entangling fellowships and steps forth alone to defend his name and influence. That there may be no doubt as to his purpose in thus standing alone, and that his enemies may understand the spirit in which he presents himself before them, he quotes their own belittling description of him: for they had described him as a coward who threatened and thundered when absent, but was meek and lowly enough when present. Accepting for the moment this false estimate of himself, he beseeches them by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (for Jesus ever preferred gentleness to severity) that they may so amend their conduct as to make their estimate of him true thus far; viz.: that at his coming he may indeed be permitted to show them gentleness, and may not, as he now confidently expected, be compelled to show his severity toward those who accused him of conducting himself as an unprincipled worldling.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.