¹Aga mina, Paulus, julgustan teid Kristuse tasaduse ja leebuse läbi, mina, kes ma teie palge ees olevat alandlik, kuid eemal viibides julge teie vastu.

¹Now 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.

²Ma palun teid, et ma teie juures viibides ei peaks olema julge selles meelekindluses, millega ma kavatsen vastata nendele, kes arvavad meid lihaliku loomuse järgi kõndivat.

²Yes, 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.

³Sest ka lihalikus ihus elades ei sõdi me selle loomuse järgi,

³For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh;

⁴meie võitluse relvad ei ole ju lihalikud, vaid need on Jumalas vägevad kindluste mahalõhkumiseks. Me kummutame targutused

⁴for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,

⁵ja purustame iga kõrkuse, mis tõstab end jumalatunnetuse vastu, ja me võtame vangi Kristuse sõnakuulmisse kõik mõtted

⁵throwing 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;

⁶ja oleme valmis nuhtlema iga sõnakuulmatust, kui teie sõnakuulelikkus on saanud täielikuks.

⁶and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience will be made full.

⁷Vaadake silmanähtavat! Kui keegi on veendunud, et ta on Kristuse päralt, arvestagu siis eneses ka seda, et nagu tema ise on Kristuse päralt, nii oleme seda ka meie.

⁷Do 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 also we are Christ’s.

⁸Sest kui ma ka kiitleksin meie meelevallast, mille Issand on andnud teie ehitamiseks ja mitte mahalõhkumiseks, siis ma ei jääks häbisse.

⁸For though I should boast somewhat abundantly concerning our authority, (which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for casting you down) I will not be disappointed,

⁹Aga ma ei taha jätta muljet, nagu püüaksin ma teid kirjadega hirmutada.

⁹that I may not seem as if I desire to terrify you by my letters.

¹⁰'Jah, tema kirjad,' öeldakse, 'on küll kaalukad ja võimsad, kuid ihulikult meie juures olles on ta nõder ja ta sõna on armetu.'

¹⁰For, “His letters,” they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.”

¹¹Niisugused arvestagu, et me oleme kohal olles samasugused kui eemalt oma kirjade sõnades.

¹¹Let 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.

¹²Me ei söanda endid nende sekka arvata või nendega kõrvutada, kes end ise teile soovitavad, sest nemad ei mõista, et nad mõõdavad end iseendaga ja kõrvutavad end iseendaga.

¹²For 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.

¹³Aga me ei taha kiidelda mõõtu pidamata, vaid selle korra mõõdu kohaselt, mille Jumal meile on mõõduks määranud, et jõuda ka teieni.

¹³But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even to you.

¹⁴Ei ole ju nõnda, et me end küllalt ei pinguta, nagu me ei olekski teieni ulatunud, sest me oleme ju Kristuse evangeeliumiga teieni jõudnud.

¹⁴For 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,

¹⁵Me ei kiitle mõõtu pidamata võõraste vaevaga, meil on aga lootus, et kui teie usk teie sees kasvab, siis kasvame ka meie üliväga meile määratud korra kohaselt,

¹⁵not 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,

¹⁶nii et me võime kuulutada evangeeliumi teist kaugematele maadele, kiitlemata sellega, mis on juba valmis kellelegi teisele antud korra kohaselt.

¹⁶so as to preach the Good News even to the parts beyond you, not to boast in what someone else has already done.

¹⁷Kes tahab kiidelda, kiidelgu Issanda üle!

¹⁷But “he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:24

¹⁸Kõlblik ei ole ju see, kes ennast ise soovitab, vaid see, keda soovitab Issand.

¹⁸For it isn’t he who commends himself who is approved, but whom the Lord commends.