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2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

World English Bible · Public Domain
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2 Corinthians 10:3-5 sits inside this longer paragraph.

Now I Paul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 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. For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience is made full. Do you look at things only as they appear in front of your face? If anyone trusts in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again with himself, that even as he is Christ’s, so we also are Christ’s. For even if I boast somewhat abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for casting you down, I will not be ashamed, that I may not seem as if I desire to terrify you by my letters. For, “His letters”, they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.” Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such are we also in deed when we are present. For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But they themselves, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding. But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even to you. For we don’t stretch ourselves too much, as though we didn’t reach to you. For we came even as far as to you with the Good News of Christ, not boasting beyond proper limits in other men’s labors, but having hope that as your faith grows, we will be abundantly enlarged by you in our sphere of influence, so as to preach the Good News even to the parts beyond you, not to boast in what someone else has already done. But “he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” For it isn’t he who commends himself who is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh;

    for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,

    throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

  • TYNDALE Tyndale New Testament (1534)

    Neverthelesse though we walke compased with the fleshe yet we warre not flesshlye

    For the weapes of oure warre are not carnall thinges but thynges myghty in god to cast doune stronge holdes

    wherwith we overthrowe ymaginacyons and every hye thynge that exalteh it silfe agaynst the knowledge of god and brynge into captivite all vnderstondynge to the obedience of Christ

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  • GNV Geneva Bible (1599)

    Neuerthelesse, though wee walke in the flesh, yet we doe not warre after the flesh.

    (For the weapons of our warrefare are not carnall, but mightie through God, to cast downe holdes)

    Casting downe the imaginations, and euery high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captiuitie euery thought to the obedience of Christ,

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Cross-references (79)

  • Hebrews 4:12 (v5) For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both…
  • Isaiah 55:7 (v5) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him, to our God,…
  • 1 Peter 1:14-15 (v5) as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, but just as he who called you is…
  • Romans 7:23 (v5) but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is…
  • Matthew 15:19 (v5) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
Show all 78 cross-references
  • 2 Corinthians 6:7 (v4) in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
  • Ephesians 6:13-18 (v4) Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore,…
  • Jeremiah 1:10 (v4) Behold, I have today set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and…
  • Romans 1:21 (v5) Because knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, and didn’t give thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart…
  • Jeremiah 4:14 (v5) Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?
  • 1 Corinthians 2:5 (v4) that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
  • 1 Samuel 17:45-50 (v4) Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh…
  • 1 Corinthians 3:19 (v5) For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”
  • Isaiah 2:11-12 (v5) The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the arrogance of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day. For…
  • Psalms 139:2 (v5) You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
  • 2 Corinthians 13:3-4 (v4) seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me; who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you. For he was crucified through…
  • 1 Timothy 1:18 (vv3–4) I commit this instruction to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which were given to you before, that by them you may wage…
  • 1 Corinthians 1:19 (v5) For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.”
  • Proverbs 15:26 (v5) Yahweh detests the thoughts of the wicked, but the thoughts of the pure are pleasing.
  • Zechariah 4:6-7 (v4) Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’…
  • Romans 13:12 (v4) The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.
  • Matthew 11:29-30 (v5) Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy,…
  • Psalms 10:4 (v5) The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.
  • 2 Corinthians 10:4 (v3) for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (v4) But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:7 (v4) But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
  • Hebrews 5:9 (v5) Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation,
  • 1 Peter 1:22 (v5) Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from…
  • Galatians 2:20 (v3) I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live…
  • 1 Peter 4:1-2 (v3) Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has…
  • 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (v5) but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world that he…
  • Ezekiel 17:24 (v5) All the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green…
  • Proverbs 24:9 (v5) The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.
  • Romans 6:13 (v4) Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your…
  • Philippians 3:4-9 (v5) though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more:…
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:8 (v5) Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;
  • Deuteronomy 15:9 (v5) Beware that there not be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,” and your eye be evil…
  • Psalms 110:2 (v4) Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
  • Romans 8:13 (v3) For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:5 (v4) not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God,
  • Isaiah 2:17 (v5) The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the arrogance of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.
  • Isaiah 59:7 (v5) Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Desolation and destruction are in…
  • Luke 1:51 (v5) He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
  • Hebrews 11:30 (v4) By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.
  • Daniel 4:37 (v5) Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk…
  • Romans 16:26 (v5)
  • 2 Corinthians 9:13 (v5) seeing that through the proof given by this service, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the Good News of Christ and…
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (v5) he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting…
  • 2 Kings 19:22 (v5) Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of…
  • Isaiah 41:14-16 (v4) Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I…
  • 2 Timothy 2:3 (v4) You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
  • 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (v3) You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he…
  • Joshua 6:20 (v4) So the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great…
  • 2 Kings 19:28 (v5) Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose, and my…
  • Isaiah 60:14 (v5) The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your…
  • Romans 1:5 (v5) through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for his name’s sake;
  • Acts 4:25-26 (v5) who by the mouth of your servant, David, said, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth take a…
  • Acts 7:22 (v4) Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was mighty in his words and works.
  • Hebrews 11:32-33 (v4) What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who…
  • 1 Peter 1:2 (v5) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his…
  • Exodus 9:16-17 (v5) but indeed for this cause I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth, because…
  • Judges 15:14-16 (v4) When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his…
  • Isaiah 30:25 (v4) There will be brooks and streams of water on every lofty mountain and on every high hill in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers…
  • Daniel 5:23-30 (v5) but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords,…
  • Judges 7:13-23 (v4) When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. He said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of…
  • Job 40:11-12 (v5) Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low. Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the…
  • Psalms 18:27 (v5) For you will save the afflicted people, but the arrogant eyes you will bring down.
  • Acts 9:4-6 (v5) He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said,…
  • 1 Corinthians 1:18-24 (v4) For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,…
  • 2 Corinthians 13:10 (v4) 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…
  • Job 42:6 (v5) Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
  • Exodus 5:2 (v5) Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover I will not let Israel…
  • Psalms 18:44 (v5) As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.
  • Psalms 110:2-3 (v5) Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies. Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of…
  • 1 Corinthians 9:7 (v4) What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn’t eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn’t drink…
  • 2 Timothy 4:7 (v3) I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.
  • Genesis 8:21 (v5) Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the…
  • Hebrews 12:1 (v3) Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily…

78 distinct cross-references across this passage (79 total citations).

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (22 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3. For though we walk in the flesh. Walking…

3. For though we walk in the flesh. Walking in the flesh means here — living it the world; or, as he expresses it elsewhere,

being at home in the body. (2 Corinthians 5:6.)

Read full note →

For he was shut up in the prison of his body. This, however, did not prevent the influence of the Holy Spirit from showing itself marvelously in his weakness. There is here again a kind of concession, which, at the same time, is of no service to his adversaries.

Those war according to the flesh, who attempt nothing but in dependence upon worldly resources, in which alone, too, they glory. They have not their confidence placed in the government and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul declares that he is not one of this class, inasmuch as he is furnished with other weapons than those of the flesh and the world. Now, what he affirms respecting himself is applicable, also, to all true ministers of Christ. For they

carry an inestimable treasure in earthen vessels,

as he had previously said. (2 Corinthians 4:7.) Hence, however they may be surrounded with the infirmities of the flesh, the spiritual power of God, nevertheless, shines forth resplendently in them.

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 On vv3–5 Secondly he witnesseth, that although he be like unto…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–5 There is a great difference between walking in the…
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv3–4 That is, "Although I yet dwell in the body,…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–5 For though we walk in the flesh,.... The apostle…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Though we walk in the flesh - In mortal…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Verse 3. Though we walk in the flesh] That…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4–5 2Co 10:4. For the weapons of our warfare —…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–5 For though we walk in the flesh - Though…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v4 For the weapons, &c. The powers with which we…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3–5 For--Reason why they should regard him "beseeching" them (Co2…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3. In the flesh—In the human body.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3. in the flesh] To walk in the flesh…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–5 (3) For though we walk in the flesh.—The phrase…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–5 We walk in the flesh. St. Paul does not…
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3–5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do…
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3–6. We walk in the flesh. He is in…
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v5 2 Corinthians
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv3–5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5 we walk in the flesh
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v3 10:3-5 A military metaphor enforces Paul’s rebuttal: Paul’s weapons…
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