| 7 τὰ κατὰ πρόσωπον βλέπετε. εἴ τις πέποιθεν ἑαυτῷ Χριστοῦ εἶναι, τοῦτο λογιζέσθω πάλιν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ ὅτι καθὼς αὐτὸς Χριστοῦ οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς. 8 ἐάν τε γὰρ περισσότερόν τι καυχήσωμαι περὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἡμῶν, ἧς ἔδωκεν ὁ κύριος εἰς οἰκοδομὴν καὶ οὐκ εἰς καθαίρεσιν ὑμῶν, οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσομαι, 9 ἵνα μὴ δόξω ὡς ἂν ἐκφοβεῖν ὑμᾶς διὰ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν: 10 ὅτι, αἱ ἐπιστολαὶ μέν, φησίν, βαρεῖαι καὶ ἰσχυραί, ἡ δὲ παρουσία τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενὴς καὶ ὁ λόγος ἐξουθενημένος. 11 τοῦτο λογιζέσθω ὁ τοιοῦτος, ὅτι οἷοί ἐσμεν τῷ λόγῳ δι' ἐπιστολῶν ἀπόντες, τοιοῦτοι καὶ παρόντες τῷ ἔργῳ. 12 οὐ γὰρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἢ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισιν τῶν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστανόντων: ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες καὶ συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς οὐ συνιᾶσιν. 13 ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα καυχησόμεθα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ κανόνος οὗ ἐμέρισεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς μέτρου, ἐφικέσθαι ἄχρι καὶ ὑμῶν. 14 οὐ γὰρ ὡς μὴ ἐφικνούμενοι εἰς ὑμᾶς ὑπερεκτείνομεν ἑαυτούς, ἄχρι γὰρ καὶ ὑμῶν ἐφθάσαμεν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ: 15 οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα καυχώμενοι ἐν ἀλλοτρίοις κόποις, ἐλπίδα δὲ ἔχοντες αὐξανομένης τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν ἐν ὑμῖν μεγαλυνθῆναι κατὰ τὸν κανόνα ἡμῶν εἰς περισσείαν, 16 εἰς τὰ ὑπερέκεινα ὑμῶν εὐαγγελίσασθαι, οὐκ ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ κανόνι εἰς τὰ ἕτοιμα καυχήσασθαι. 17 ὁ δὲ καυχώμενος ἐν κυρίῳ καυχάσθω: 18 οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἑαυτὸν συνιστάνων, ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν δόκιμος, ἀλλὰ' ὃν ὁ κύριος συνίστησιν. |
7 Wait and see what happens when we meet.[3] There may be someone who takes credit to himself for being the champion of Christ; if so, let him reflect further that we belong to Christ’s cause no less than himself; 8 and indeed, I might boast of the powers I have, powers which the Lord has given me so as to build up your faith, not so as to crush your spirits, and I should not be put in the wrong. 9 It must not be thought that I try to overawe you when I write. 10 His letters, some people say, are powerful and carry weight, but his presence in person lacks dignity, he is but a poor orator. 11 I warn those who speak thus that, when we visit you, our actions will not belie the impression which our letters make when we are at a distance. 12 It is not for us to intrude, or challenge comparison with others who claim credit for themselves; we are content to go by our own measure, to compare ourselves with our own standard of achievement.[4] 13 Yes, we may boast, but our boasting will not be disproportionate; it will be in proportion to the province which God has assigned to us, one which reaches as far as you. 14 Nobody can say that we are encroaching, that you lie beyond our orbit; our journeys in preaching Christ’s gospel took us all the way to you.[5] 15 Ours, then, is no disproportionate boasting, founded on other men’s labours; on the contrary, as your faith bears increase, we hope to attain still further vantage-points through you, without going beyond our province, 16 and preach the gospel further afield, without boasting of ready-made conquests in a province that belongs to another. 17 He who boasts, should make his boast in the Lord; 18 it is the man whom God accredits, not the man who takes credit to himself, that proves himself to be true metal. |
7 Quæ secundum faciem sunt, videte. Si quis confidit sibi Christi se esse, hoc cogitet iterum apud se: quia sicut ipse Christi est, ita et nos. 8 Nam etsi amplius aliquid gloriatus fuero de potestate nostra, quam dedit nobis Dominus in ædificationem, et non in destructionem vestram, non erubescam. 9 Ut autem non existimer tamquam terrere vos per epistolas: 10 quoniam quidem epistolæ, inquiunt, graves sunt et fortes: præsentia autem corporis infirma, et sermo contemptibilis: 11 hoc cogitet qui ejusmodi est, quia quales sumus verbo per epistolas absentes, tales et præsentes in facto. 12 Non enim audemus inserere, aut comparare nos quibusdam, qui seipsos commendant: sed ipsi in nobis nosmetipsos metientes, et comparantes nosmetipsos nobis. 13 Nos autem non in immensum gloriabimur, sed secundum mensuram regulæ, qua mensus est nobis Deus, mensuram pertingendi usque ad vos. 14 Non enim quasi non pertingentes ad vos, superextendimus nos: usque ad vos enim pervenimus in Evangelio Christi. 15 Non in immensum gloriantes in alienis laboribus: spem autem habentes crescentis fidei vestræ, in vobis magnificari secundum regulam nostram in abundantiam, 16 etiam in illa, quæ ultra vos sunt, evangelizare, non in aliena regula in iis quæ præparata sunt gloriari. 17 Qui autem gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. 18 Non enim qui seipsum commendat, ille probatus est: sed quem Deus commendat. |