2 Kolinitō 10

1 Pea ko au Paula, ko au ʻoku matamatavaivai [ʻo kau ka ]ʻiate kimoutolu, ka ʻi heʻeku mamaʻo ʻoku ou loto mālohi kiate kimoutolu, ʻoku ou fakakolekole kiate kimoutolu ʻi he angavaivai mo e angamalū ʻa Kalaisi:

Now I myself, Paul, appeal to you in a gentle and humble way, like Christ [would. Certain people among you have falsely accused me by saying], “When [Paul] is with you, he is humble [and speaks gently] to you, but when he is away from you, [in the letters he writes to you] he threatens [to punish] you.” [Those people claim that I do not have authority over you as an apostle].

2 Ka ʻoku ou kole, koeʻuhi ke ʻoua naʻaku loto mālohi ʻi heʻeku ʻiate kimoutolu, ʻi he pule ko ia ʻoku ou ʻamanaki ke u fai mālohi ai ki he niʻihi, ʻoku nau lau kiate kimautolu ʻo hangē ʻoku mau ʻaʻeva ʻo fakatatau mo e kakano.

I strongly plead with you, “[Please do not listen to people who say things like that!]” [I strongly plead with you not to listen to them], so that when I am there [with you] I will not [need to] speak severely [to you] in the same severe way as I [plan to] speak to those people who think that I behave like people who are not believers.

3 He neongo ʻoku mau ʻaʻeva ʻi he kakano, ka ʻoku ʻikai te mau tau fakakakano:

[Remember that] although I am [human like everyone else] in the world, I do not fight [against those who oppose me] in the way that people who are not believers fight those who oppose them.

4 (He ko e mahafutau ʻo ʻemau tau ʻoku ʻikai fakakakano, ka ʻoku mālohi lahi ʻi he ʻOtua ke holoki hifo ai ʻae ngaahi kolo mālohi; )

[I will tell you what I mean by that: Just like soldiers use] various weapons [to fight their enemies] [MET], [I] ([fight against/oppose]) [those who] oppose God’s message, but I do it in a different way. I do not [use human arguments and clever/sweet talk], like unbelievers do. Instead, [I fight against my opponents] with the powerful means that God [has given me]. With that power [I destroy their arguments against God’s message and against me, just like soldiers destroy] [MET] the fortresses [of their enemies].

5 ‌ʻO holoki ki lalo ʻae ngaahi fakakaukau, mo e meʻa māʻolunga kotoa pē, ʻoku ne fakahikihiki ia ki he ʻilo ʻoe ʻOtua, pea ʻoku ne fakavaivai ʻae mahalo kotoa pē ki he talangofua kia Kalaisi;

[Specifically], I show that the [human] arguments that they use to deceive [people are completely wrong]. When they [proudly say things that] keep other people from knowing God, [I show them that they are completely wrong. I also enable people to] change their ways of thinking so that they think about everything as Christ [wants them to think].

6 Pea ʻoku mau tali te u pe ke tautea ʻae talangataʻa kotoa pē, ʻoka kakato hoʻomou talangofua.

I am also ready to discipline everyone [among you] who has not obeyed [the things that Christ taught. I will do this] as soon as you [who truly want to obey Christ show me that] you are [going to] obey him completely.

7 He ʻoku mou vakai ki he ngaahi meʻa ʻo hangē ko hono hā mai ʻituʻa? Kapau ʻoku ai ha tangata ʻoku ne faʻaki kiate ia ʻoku ʻa Kalaisi ia, ke toe fifili ki he meʻa ko ia ʻiate ia, koeʻuhi ʻo hangē ʻoku ʻa Kalaisi ia, ʻoku ʻa Kalaisi pehē pe ʻakimautolu.

[I want you to understand what is] happening among you. There are certain [people there who are telling you that] they know for sure that they are Christ’s [representatives and that I am not]. Those people should realize that I [represent] Christ as much as they do.

8 He ka ne lahi hake siʻi ʻeku polepole ʻi heʻemau mālohi, ʻaia kuo tuku mai ʻe he ʻEiki kiate kimautolu ke langa ʻaki hake, ka ʻoku ʻikai ko homou fakaʻauha, [pehē], ʻe ʻikai te u mā ai:

[I say that] because the authority that the Lord gave me [as his apostle] is to help you to become mature believers, not to cause you to stop [trusting in Christ]. So even if I were to boast a little more than I have [already done] (OR, proudly talk a little more than I have [already talked] about the authority the Lord gave me [as his apostle]), [no one would be able to make me] ashamed [by proving that Jesus has not given me that authority].

9 Ka ʻoku ʻikai te u fie hangē kau ka fakamanaʻi ʻakimoutolu ʻaki ʻae ngaahi tohi.

I do not intend to make you afraid of me by the letters that I [write to you].

10 He ʻoku nau pehē, “Ko [ʻene ]ngaahi tohi ʻoku mamafa mo mālohi; ka ʻoku ha vaivai mai [hono ]sino, pea ko [ʻene ]lea ʻoku kovi.”

[I say that] because some people are saying, “[When Paul writes] letters, he says severe things [in order to make you obey him], but when he is here with you, [people look at him and say] he is weak, and he certainly is not a skillful speaker.”

11 Ke ʻilo ʻe he tokotaha ko ia, ko ia ʻoku hā ʻiate kimautolu ʻi he lea ʻi he ngaahi tohi ʻi heʻemau mamaʻo, ko kimautolu ai pe ia ʻi he ngāue ʻoka mau ka ʻi ai.

The [people who say] such things should think carefully about this: The kind of [severe] person that [you think] me to be when you read my letters is exactly the kind of person I will be when I come. [I will do what I wrote that I would do].

12 He ʻoku ʻikai te mau faʻa fakakau ʻakimautolu, pe fakatatau ʻakimautolu, ki he niʻihi ʻoku fakaongolelei atu ʻakinautolu: ka ko ʻenau fuofua ʻakinautolu ʻaki ʻakinautolu, ʻo fakatatau ʻakinautolu kiate kinautolu, ko e fai vale ia.

[Those who oppose me] tell others how good they are. [If they really were superior to me] [IRO], I would not be so bold as to say that I [was equal to them, or] to compare myself with them. [But they are not superior to me]. They make up their own standards [about what God’s servants should be like], and then they look at their own [conduct] and decide [whether or not they meet those standards. By doing that, they show that] they are foolish.

13 Ka ʻe ʻikai te mau polepole ki he ngaahi meʻa ʻituʻa atu ʻi [homau ]lakanga, kae fakatatau ki hono fuofua ʻoe lakanga ʻaia kuo fuofua ʻe he ʻOtua kiate kimautolu, ko e fuofua ʻoku aʻu atu foki kiate kimoutolu.

But as for me, I will not boast about [working among people living in] areas outside of the areas [that God sent/assigned me to work in]. But [it is right for] me to say that [I have worked] in the areas that God assigned to me. [And since those areas] include the one where you live,

14 He ʻoku ʻikai te mau mafao atu ʻakimautolu, ʻo hangē naʻe ʻikai ke mau aʻu atu kiate kimoutolu: he kuo mau aʻu atu kiate kimoutolu foki ʻi he ongoongolelei ʻo Kalaisi:

[when I talk about working among you], I am not boasting [about working in an area where God did not give me the right to work. What those who oppose me say about my not having authority as an apostle to you might be true] if I had not already come all the way to your area. [But that is not true], because I was the one who first brought the message about Christ to you. [I came to Corinth before they did]!

15 ‌ʻOku ʻikai te mau faʻa polepole ki he ngaahi meʻa ʻituʻa ʻi [homau ]lakanga, ʻaia ko e ngaahi ngāue ʻae kau tangata kehe; ka ʻoku mau ʻamanaki lelei, ʻoka fakalahi hoʻomou tui, ke mau mafola atu ʻaupito ʻiate kimoutolu kae ʻi homau lakanga pe,

Also, [my opponents] boast about work that others have done [as if it were their own work]. It is improper for them to do that, but I do not do as they do. I confidently expect that as you trust more and more [in the gospel that I preach], you will more and more [agree that God has given me the right to] work [as Christ’s representative] among you.

16 Ke mau malangaʻaki ʻae ongoongolelei ki he mamaʻo atu ʻiate kimoutolu, pea ʻikai ke polepole ʻi he lakanga ngāue ʻae tangata kehe kuo ʻosi teuteu.

Then I will be able to go to places beyond where you [are]. I will be able to tell the good message about Christ [to people in areas where no one has yet gone to tell that message]. And [I will be able to talk about the work I myself have done in that area], instead of boasting about work that someone else has already done [as if it were my work].

17 “Ka ko ia ʻoku polepole, ke polepole ia ʻi he ʻEiki.”

[I try to do according to what someone/Jeremiah wrote in the Scriptures], If anyone wants to boast [about something], he should boast [only] about what the Lord [God has done].

18 He ʻoku ʻikai ko ia ʻoku ne fakaongolelei ia ʻe fakamālō ki ai, ka ko ia ʻoku fakaongolelei ia ʻe he ʻEiki.

[You can realize, then, that] it is not those who (praise themselves/tell you what great things they have done), [as my opponents do], whom you should accept [as apostles]. Instead, you [should accept as true apostles only] those whom the Lord commends.