To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.
For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”
What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool.
For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.
through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!