To my shame I must say that we have been weak. Yet whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I speak in foolishness—I dare, too.
for they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his presence in person is weak and his speech of no account.”
I wish that you would put up with a little foolishness from me, but indeed you are putting up with me.
What I am saying, I am saying not according to the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this self-confident boasting.
For this reason I write these things while I am absent, so that when I am present I need not proceed harshly, according to the authority which the Lord gave me—for building up and not for tearing down.
through honor and dishonor, through evil report and good report. We are regarded as deceivers and yet true;