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OET (OET-LV) For/Because not we_are_daring to_classify or to_compare ourselves, with_some of_the ones themselves commending, but they among themselves, themselves measuring and comparing themselves with_themselves, not are_understanding.
OET (OET-RV) We don’t dare to classify ourselves or compare with some of those who commend themselves, but they measure and compare themselves with each other—not understanding what they’re doing.
In this section, Paul asked the believers in Corinth to live in obedience to their faith, or he might have to rebuke or discipline some (10:1–2). He explained how a believer fights against those who oppose God (10:3–4) and how to rebuke them as well as correct a disobedient believer (10:5–6).
He told them to understand their situation, including Paul’s authority (10:7–8). He explained that he was forceful in his letters, and that he would be forceful in person if he had to be (10:9–11).
He told them that people who commend themselves are not wise (10:12). He explained that he boasted only in proper ways. One of those ways was boasting about the faith of people whom he had helped become believers, which included those in Corinth (10:13–15a). He told them that he hoped to preach the gospel in more regions (10:15b–16a). He explained further about proper things to boast about (10:16b–17). Lastly, he told them that God approves of people according to what God himself says in favor of them and not what a person boasts about himself (10:18).
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul’s reply to accusations of weakness (NJB)
Paul Describes Himself (NASB)
Paul responded to some who had criticized him
We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.
¶ For we(excl) would not risk classifying/ranking ourselves or compare ourselves with some people who recommend themselves as qualified to be your leaders.
¶ Some people praise themselves about how important they are. Should we be bold enough to say we are the same kind of person or compare ourselves to them? No way!
¶ Some people wrongly think that we would be too bold to say that we have the same status or are the same kind of person as those who proclaim how great/important they are.
10:12 begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “for” or “because.” Here it probably indicates that 10:12 connects the comparison of Paul’s letters and his deeds (10:11) to his ironic comparison of himself to the false teachers here. For example:
For (NASB)
Many English versions allow the context to indicate the connection and omit the conjunction.
We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves: Paul used irony here. He wrote as if the false teachers were true apostles and he was not. But Paul knew that he was a true apostle and they were not. So the irony showed that he was different from them and was actually greater than them. The irony also implies that those people were wrong to commend themselves. Translate in a way that clearly shows the irony. For example:
Of course we would not dare classify ourselves or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly. (GNT)
Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! (NLT)
We really are cowards so we do not rank or compare ourselves with some of the people there who call themselves great leaders
In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Translate these words in a way that explains the irony. Your translation should indicate or imply that the false teachers were wrong to commend themselves. For example:
Some people there commend themselves. Should we be bold enough to classify or compare ourselves to them? No way!
We should/will not classify or compare ourselves to some people there who wrongly commend themselves
Classifying or comparing ourselves to some people there who commend themselves is worthless.
Some people are with you and they praise themselves saying, “We are good/great people, respect us.” But as for us, in no way do we want to say that the ways of those people and our own ways are the same.
Translate literally and explain the irony in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Paul used irony here. He wrote as if the false teachers were true apostles and he was not. But Paul knew that he was a true apostle and they were not.
We do not dare: The word dare refers to being bold in regard to doing something risky. For example, jumping off a high bridge might be dangerous, but someone challenges you to jump. Here Paul used irony to pretend that comparing themselves with the false teachers was risky or dangerous, because they might be found to be inferior (in this irony). Other ways to translate this clause are:
We do not risk
We are not so bold as
classify: This word refers to the effort to decide if one thing is the same sort of thing as another. The false teachers claimed to be apostles. But Paul did not think it worthwhile to think about whether he was like them, or whether they were like him, because he already knew they were false teachers. Other ways to translate this word are:
class (RSV)
rank (NJB)
say we are the same kind of person
say we have the same kind of status
some who commend themselves: Here the word commend indicates that they boasted about themselves to the believers in Corinth so that the believers would accept them and follow their teaching. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
these other men who tell you how important they are (NLT)
some people who recommend themselves
those who write their own testimonials (JBP)
When they measure themselves by themselves
But when they measure themselves by one another (RSV)
Those who proclaim how great/important they are say that their colleagues/friends behavior is good and then judge themselves by it
10:12b begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “but” (as in the NASB). Here it indicates that 10:12b–c contrasts with 10:12a.
In some languages it is more natural to allow the context to indicate the contrast and omit the conjunction.
they measure themselves by themselves: This clause indicates that the false teachers used their own behavior as a standard of goodness. They said that it was correct and proper. They did not look to see what Scripture said were correct behavior and beliefs. Other ways to translate this clause are:
they measure themselves by one another (RSV)
They make up their own standards to measure themselves by (GNT)
they…measure themselves by their own standards (JBP)
they say that they are good in their own sight/measure/guideline
and compare themselves with themselves, they show their ignorance.
and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (RSV)
and look at the lives of their colleagues/friends and say about themselves that they are the same as them and therefore good/right/proper. This shows that they do not have good sense.
compare themselves with themselves: This phrase indicates that the false teachers evaluated themselves by comparing themselves with other false teachers in their group. So they said something like “I am like you, therefore I am good.” They did not look to see what Scripture said were correct behavior and beliefs. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
compare themselves with one another (RSV)
compare themselves with their own people whom they agree with
look at their own friends/colleagues and say about themselves that they are good
they show their ignorance: The Greek words are literally “they do not understand.” The false teachers did not realize that doing such things was improper and worthless. Other ways to translate this clause are:
they are without understanding (RSV)
they are foolish (CEV)
they do not show good sense (NRSV)
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἤ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισίν τῶν ἑαυτούς συνιστανόντων ἀλλά αὐτοί ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτούς μετροῦντες καί συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτούς ἑαυτοῖς οὒ συνιᾶσιν)
Here, the word For introduces a further explanation of what Paul said in the previous verses ([10:10–11](../10/10.md)) in response to what some people say about him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different word or phrase that introduces further explanation, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [Indeed,] or [In fact,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
ἐνκρῖναι ἢ συνκρῖναι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἤ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισίν τῶν ἑαυτούς συνιστανόντων ἀλλά αὐτοί ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτούς μετροῦντες καί συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτούς ἑαυτοῖς οὒ συνιᾶσιν)
The terms classify and compare mean similar things. The word classify refers to considering something to be part of a group, and the word compare refers to evaluating something to see if it is similar to something else. Paul is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [to compare] or [to include]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες καὶ συνκρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς
among themselves (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἤ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισίν τῶν ἑαυτούς συνιστανόντων ἀλλά αὐτοί ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτούς μετροῦντες καί συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτούς ἑαυτοῖς οὒ συνιᾶσιν)
These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the phrases with a word other than and in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, or you could combine the two phrases. Alternate translation: [measuring themselves by themselves, indeed, comparing themselves with themselves] or [measuring and comparing themselves by themselves]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες καὶ συνκρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς
among themselves (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἤ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισίν τῶν ἑαυτούς συνιστανόντων ἀλλά αὐτοί ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτούς μετροῦντες καί συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτούς ἑαυτοῖς οὒ συνιᾶσιν)
Here, the word themselves could indicate that each person: (1) measures and compares himself by himself or herself by herself. Alternate translation: [measuring themselves by their own standard, and comparing themselves with their own standard] (2) measures and compares himself or herself by others in a specific group. Alternate translation: [measuring themselves by each other, and comparing themselves with each other]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες
among themselves (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἤ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισίν τῶν ἑαυτούς συνιστανόντων ἀλλά αὐτοί ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτούς μετροῦντες καί συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτούς ἑαυτοῖς οὒ συνιᾶσιν)
Here Paul speaks as if people were objects that someone would “measure.” He is speaking about how people compare or contrast themselves with people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [evaluating themselves by themselves] or [assessing themselves by themselves]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὐ συνιᾶσιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἤ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισίν τῶν ἑαυτούς συνιστανόντων ἀλλά αὐτοί ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτούς μετροῦντες καί συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτούς ἑαυτοῖς οὒ συνιᾶσιν)
Here Paul does not state what it is that these people do not understand. What he means is that these people are not acting in wise ways. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that expresses the idea more explicitly. Alternate translation: [are not wise] or [do not act with understanding]
10:12 Paul now charges his enemies with a set of false values, since they attached great importance to themselves.
OET (OET-LV) For/Because not we_are_daring to_classify or to_compare ourselves, with_some of_the ones themselves commending, but they among themselves, themselves measuring and comparing themselves with_themselves, not are_understanding.
OET (OET-RV) We don’t dare to classify ourselves or compare with some of those who commend themselves, but they measure and compare themselves with each other—not understanding what they’re doing.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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