2 Corinthians 10:4-5

10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, ¹  but are made powerful by God ²  for tearing down strongholds. ³  We tear down arguments ⁴  10:5 and every arrogant obstacle ⁵  that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey ⁶  Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:1

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you ⁷  personally ⁸  by the meekness and gentleness ⁹  of Christ (I who am meek ¹⁰  when present among ¹¹  you, but am full of courage ¹²  toward you when away!) –

2 Corinthians 1:18

1:18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”

2 Corinthians 6:12

6:12 Our affection for you is not restricted, ¹³  but you are restricted in your affections for us.

2 Corinthians 6:2

6:2 For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” ¹⁴  Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation!

2 Corinthians 2:3-4

2:3 And I wrote this very thing to you, ¹⁵  so that when I came ¹⁶  I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours. 2:4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you. ¹⁷ 

2 Corinthians 4:7

An Eternal Weight of Glory

4:7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power ¹⁸  belongs to God and does not come from us.

¹ tn Grk “are not fleshly [weapons].” The repetition of the word “warfare” does not occur in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.

² tn Or “but (are) divinely powerful,” “but they have divine power,” or “but are powerful for God’s [service]”; Grk “but are powerful to God.”

³ sn Ultimately Paul is referring here to the false arguments of his opponents, calling them figuratively “strongholds.” This Greek word (ὀχύρωμα, ocurwma) is used only here in the NT.

⁴ tn Or “speculations.”

⁵ tn The phrase “every arrogant obstacle” could be translated simply “all arrogance” (so L&N 88.207).

⁶ tn Grk “to the obedience of Christ”; but since Χριστοῦ (Cristou) is clearly an objective genitive here, it is better to translate “to make it obey Christ.”

⁷ tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.

⁸ tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.

⁹ 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.”

¹⁰ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

¹¹ tn Or “when face to face with.”

¹² tn Or “but bold.”

¹³ tn Grk “You are not restricted by us.”

¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 49:8.

¹⁵ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

¹⁶ sn So that when I came. Regarding this still future visit by Paul, see 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1.

¹⁷ tn Or “the love that I have in great measure for you.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “the surpassingness of the power”; δυνάμεως (dunamew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (“extraordinary power”).