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!) – 10:2 now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving 7 according to human standards. 8 10:3 For though we live 9 as human beings, 10 we do not wage war according to human standards, 11 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, 12 but are made powerful by God 13 for tearing down strongholds. 14 We tear down arguments 15 10:5 and every arrogant obstacle 16 that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey 17 Christ. 10:6 We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, 18 whenever your obedience is complete. 10:7 You are looking at outward appearances. 19 If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect on this again: Just as he himself belongs to Christ, so too do we. 10:8 For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us 20 for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so. 21 10:9 I do not want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters, 10:10 because some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is weak 22 and his speech is of no account.” 23 10:11 Let such a person consider this: What we say 24 by letters when we are absent, we also are in actions when we are present.