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2 Corinthians 10 · a question people ask

"For, “His letters”, they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.”" (10:10). Who says this?

In the text

The verse says only "they say" (10:10), and the chapter names no one. These notes don't name anyone either, and don't say whether the words are true. The next verse says, "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." (10:11).

The verses

“For, “His letters”, they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.” 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.”
2 Corinthians 10:10-11 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10: Whom the Lord commends

2 Corinthians 10 gives the letter's "I" a name: "Now I Paul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Christ" (10:1). It says the Lord gave its authority "for building you up and not for casting you down" (10:8), and it ends, "For it isn’t he who commends himself who is approved, but whom the Lord commends." (10:18).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions