2 Corinthians 10:6

Contextual Overview

¹ I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some say that I am bold when I am writing you from a distance, but not when I am there with you. ¹ I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold to you when I am away! -- ¹ I Paule my silfe beseche you by the mekenes and softnes of Christ which when I am present amoge you am of no reputacio but am bolde towarde you beinge absent. ¹ Now I Sha'ul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Messiah; I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am of good courage toward you. ¹ Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! ¹ I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some people say that I am easy on you when I am with you and bold when I am away. ¹ Now I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am of good courage toward you: ¹ Now I Paul myself beseech you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence [am] base among you, but being absent am bold towards you: ¹ I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— ¹ Now 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 of good courage toward you.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in: 2 Corinthians 13:2, 2 Corinthians 13:10, Numbers 16:26-30, Acts 5:3-11, Acts 13:10, Acts 13:11, 1 Corinthians 4:21, 1 Corinthians 5:3-5, 1 Timothy 1:20, 3 John 1:10

when: 2 Corinthians 2:9, 2 Corinthians 7:15

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 2:24 - cursed them Proverbs 26:3 - General Romans 6:17 - but ye 1 Corinthians 5:5 - deliver 2 Corinthians 1:23 - that 2 Corinthians 12:20 - and that 2 Corinthians 12:21 - and have not Galatians 5:10 - bear 2 Thessalonians 3:14 - obey

Cross-References

Genesis 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.

Genesis 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

Genesis 9:22
Ham, the father of Canaan, looked at his naked father and told his brothers outside.

Genesis 9:22
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers who were outside.

Genesis 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

Genesis 9:22
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

Genesis 9:22
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw [by accident] the nakedness of his father, and [to his father's shame] told his two brothers outside.

Genesis 9:22
And whanne Cham, the fadir of Chanaan, hadde seien this thing, that is, that the schameful membris of his fadir weren maad nakid, he telde to hise tweye britheren with out forth.

Genesis 9:22
And Ham, father of Canaan, seeth the nakedness of his father, and declareth to his two brethren without.

Genesis 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience,.... Not with the temporal sword, as the civil magistrate, but with the spiritual one; meaning either censures and excommunication, which a faithful minister of the Gospel, with the suffrage of the church, has at hand, and a power to make use of, for the reclaiming of disobedient persons; or rather that extraordinary power which was peculiar to the apostles, of inflicting punishments on delinquents, such as what was exercised by Peter upon Ananias and Sapphira, by the Apostle Paul on Elymas the sorcerer, the incestuous person, and Hymenaeus and Philetus, and which still continued with him; it was ready at hand, he could exercise it whenever he pleased, he only waited a proper time:

when your obedience is fulfilled: till they were thoroughly reformed from the several abuses, both in doctrine and practice, they had fallen into, and were brought into a better order and decorum, and appeared to have been in all things obedient to the directions he had given; being unwilling, as yet, to use the awful authority he had from Christ, lest any of the dear children of God, who were capable of being restored by gentler methods, should suffer with the refractory and incorrigible.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And having in a readiness ... - I am ready to punish all disobedience, notwithstanding all that is said to the contrary; see the notes on 2 Corinthians 10:1-2. Clothed as I am with this power; aiming to subdue all things to Christ, though the weapons of my warfare are not carnal, and though I am modest or timid 2 Corinthians 10:1 when I am with you, I am prepared to take any measures of severity required by my apostolic office, in order that I may inflict deserved punishment on those who have violated the laws of Christ. The design of this is, to meet the objection of his enemies, that he would not dare to execute his threatenings.

When your obedience is fulfilled - Doddridge renders this: “now your obedience is fulfilled, and the sounder part of your church restored to due order and submission.” The idea seems to be, that Paul was ready to inflict discipline when the church had showed a readiness to obey his laws, and to do its own duty - delicately intimating that the reason why it was not done was the lack of entire promptness in the church itself, and that it could not be done on any offender as long as the church itself was not prepared to sustain him. The church was to discountenance the enemies of the Redeemer; to show an entire readiness to sustain the apostle, and to unite with him in the effort to maintain the discipline of Christ’s house.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Corinthians 10:6. And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience — I am ready, through this mighty armour of God, to punish those opposers of the doctrine of Christ, and the disobedience which has been produced by them.

When your obedience is fulfilled. — When you have in the fullest manner, discountenanced those men, and separated yourselves from their communion. The apostle was not in haste to pull up the tares, lest he should pull up the wheat also.

All the terms in these two verses are military. Allusion is made to a strongly fortifed city, where the enemy had made his last stand; entrenching himself about the walls; strengthening all his redoubts and ramparts; raising castles, towers, and various engines of defence and offence upon the walls; and neglecting nothing that might tend to render his strong hold impregnable. The army of God comes against the place and attacks it; the strong holds οχυροματα, all the fortified places, are carried. The imaginations, λογισμοι, engines, and whatever the imagination or skill of man could raise, are speedily taken and destroyed. Every high thing, παν υψωμα, all the castles and towers are sapped, thrown down and demolished; the walls are battered into breaches; and the besieging army, carrying every thing at the point of the sword, enter the city, storm and take the citadel. Every where defeated, the conquered submit, and are brought into captivity, αιχμαλωτιζοντες, are led away captives; and thus the whole government is destroyed.

It is easy to apply these things, as far as may be consistent with the apostle's design. The general sense I have given in the preceding notes.