Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such are we also in deed when we are present.
- KJV Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.
- BSB Such people should consider that what we are in our letters when absent, we will be in our actions when present.
- NASB Have such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.
- NLT Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul warns such critics that he will be the same in person as he is in his letters. There is no gap between his words and his deeds.
Overview
Paul answers the accusation of inconsistency: what he writes when absent, he will carry out when present. His firmness is not mere bravado. This integrity, the alignment of word and action, marks genuine apostolic authority and stands in contrast to those who boast emptily.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Cor 12:20For I am afraid that by any means, when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you don’t desire; that by any means there would be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, whisperings, proud thoughts, riots;
- 2 Cor 13:10For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for tearing down.
- 2 Cor 13:2–3I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before now, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare;
- 1 Cor 4:19–20But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 10:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.