independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
The meekness of Christ and the weapons of warfare 10:1–6
vv. 1–2 — the appeal: meekness now, boldness held in reserve
1
Αὐτὸς δὲ ἐγὼ Παῦλος παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς διὰ τῆς πραΰτητος καὶ ἐπιεικείας τοῦ Χριστοῦ,independent — the self-naming opening of chs. 10–13 — the plea grounded in Christ's own πραΰτης
ὃς κατὰ πρόσωπον μὲν ταπεινὸς ἐν ὑμῖν,relative — on ἐγώ — the critics' jibe conceded, verbless (copula implied)
ἀπὼν δὲ θαρρῶ εἰς ὑμᾶς·relative — the μέν answered — the relative slides into a first-person finite (θαρρῶ)
2
δέομαι δὲindependent — the appeal intensified — δέομαι after παρακαλῶ
τὸ μὴ παρὼν θαρρῆσαι τῇ πεποιθήσειcontent — articular infinitive — the petition's content
ᾗ λογίζομαι τολμῆσαι ἐπί τιναςrelative — ᾗ dative by attraction — λογίζομαι, the chapter's signature verb
τοὺς λογιζομένους ἡμᾶς ὡς κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦντας.participial — in apposition to τινας — their λογίζομαι turned back on them
vv. 3–6 — the campaign: divine weapons against strongholds
3
Ἐν σαρκὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦντεςparticipial — concessive — fronted, leaning on the main verb below; ἐν σαρκί conceded
οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα·independent — the denial — κατὰ σάρκα refused; the military metaphor opens
4
τὰ γὰρ ὅπλα τῆς στρατείας ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικὰcause — the ground — verbless, copula implied
ἀλλὰ δυνατὰ τῷ θεῷ πρὸς καθαίρεσιν ὀχυρωμάτων,cause — the counter-predicate — δυνατὰ τῷ θεῷ, siege-power for God's ends
λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντεςparticipial — nominative ad sensum — resumes the 'we' of στρατευόμεθα across the verbless ground
5
καὶ πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ,phrase modifier — second object of καθαιροῦντες — with attributive ἐπαιρόμενον, pride's rampart
καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντες πᾶν νόημα εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ,participial — the metaphor shifts — from razing to deportation; thoughts led off as prisoners
6
καὶ ἐν ἑτοίμῳ ἔχοντες ἐκδικῆσαι πᾶσαν παρακοήν,participial — ἐν ἑτοίμῳ ἔχειν — discipline held in reserve; παρακοή the echo-antonym of ὑπακοή
ὅταν πληρωθῇ ὑμῶν ἡ ὑπακοή.conditional — ὅταν + subjunctive — temporal-conditional, backward-leaning; judgment waits on their loyalty
Authority that builds up, present and absent 10:7–11
vv. 7–8 — look at what is evident: Christ's, and authorized
7
Τὰ κατὰ πρόσωπον βλέπετε.independent — βλέπετε — indicative charge or imperative summons; the ambiguity left open
εἴ τις πέποιθεν ἑαυτῷ Χριστοῦ εἶναι,conditional — protasis — leans on the imperative below; the rival's slogan, assumed for argument
τοῦτο λογιζέσθω πάλιν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦindependent — apodosis — third-person imperative; the reckoning demanded afresh
ὅτι καθὼς αὐτὸς Χριστοῦ οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς.content — καθὼς … οὕτως — both copulas implied; equal claim, equal title
8
ἐάν τε γὰρ περισσότερόν τι καυχήσωμαι περὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἡμῶν,conditional — protasis — leans on the apodosis below; the concession of greater boasting
ἧς ἔδωκεν ὁ κύριος εἰς οἰκοδομὴν καὶ οὐκ εἰς καθαίρεσιν ὑμῶν,relative — ἧς by attraction — οἰκοδομή against καθαίρεσις, the siege-word of v. 4 disowned toward the church
οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσομαι,independent — apodosis — the boast will prove true, not empty
vv. 9–11 — letters and presence: no gap between word and deed
9
ἵνα μὴ δόξω ὡς ἂν ἐκφοβεῖν ὑμᾶς διὰ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν·purpose — parenthetical purpose — taken with v. 8; some construe it forward across v. 10 to v. 11
10
ὅτι Αἱ ἐπιστολαὶ μέν, φησίν, βαρεῖαι καὶ ἰσχυραί,cause — causal-recitative ὅτι — the critics' verdict opens, wrapped around the parenthetical φησίν
ἡ δὲ παρουσία τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενὴςcontent — the quoted verdict continues — δέ answering μέν, hung on its own verb of saying
καὶ ὁ λόγος ἐξουθενημένος.content — the harshest limb — ἐξουθενημένος, his speech counted as nothing
11
τοῦτο λογιζέσθω ὁ τοιοῦτος,independent — asyndeton lands the riposte — λογιζέσθω again (v. 7), aimed at the unnamed critic
ὅτι οἷοί ἐσμεν τῷ λόγῳ δι' ἐπιστολῶν ἀπόντες,content — the οἷοι limb — word, by letter, in absence
τοιοῦτοι καὶ παρόντες τῷ ἔργῳ.content — correlative τοιοῦτοι — future copula understood; λόγος matched by ἔργον, answering v. 10
Boasting within measure — and only in the Lord 10:12–18
vv. 12–14 — the measure God assigned reached Corinth
12
Οὐ γὰρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναι ἢ συγκρῖναι ἑαυτούς τισιν τῶν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστανόντων·independent — the irony — 'we dare not'; the jingle ἐγκρῖναι/συγκρῖναι mocks the comparison contest
ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες καὶ συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑαυτοῖςparticipial — fronted participles — lean on the verdict below; the ἑαυτ- circle closes on itself
οὐ συνιᾶσιν.independent — the deadpan verdict — the self-made measure measures nothing; the longer reading retained
13
ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα καυχησόμεθα,independent — emphatic ἡμεῖς δέ — the counter-stance to the self-measurers
ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ κανόνοςphrase modifier — κανών — read as the allotted mission-province, God's surveyor's line, not an abstract rule
οὗ ἐμέρισεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς μέτρου,relative — οὗ by attraction, with resumptive appositional μέτρου — the verse's notoriously knotted syntax
ἐφικέσθαι ἄχρι καὶ ὑμῶν.content — epexegetic infinitive on τὸ μέτρον — the field's extent includes Corinth by God's design
14
οὐ γὰρ ὡς μὴ ἐφικνούμενοι εἰς ὑμᾶςcomparative — fronted ὡς μή comparative — the alleged case denied; οὐ construes with the verb below
ὑπερεκτείνομεν ἑαυτούς,independent — ὑπερεκτείνω — the overreach disclaimed (only here in the NT)
ἄχρι γὰρ καὶ ὑμῶν ἐφθάσαμεν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ·cause — the ground — ἐφθάσαμεν: Paul arrived first, founding the church (1 Cor 3:6, 10)
vv. 15–16 — hope for the regions beyond
15
οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα καυχώμενοι ἐν ἀλλοτρίοις κόποις,participial — the disavowal — ἀλλότριοι κόποι, credit poached from another's toil
ἐλπίδα δὲ ἔχοντεςparticipial — the contrast — hope of enlargement, not encroachment
αὐξανομένης τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶνparticipial — genitive absolute — the condition of the hoped-for enlargement
ἐν ὑμῖν μεγαλυνθῆναι κατὰ τὸν κανόνα ἡμῶν εἰς περισσείαν,content — epexegetic infinitive — the hope's content; even the enlargement stays κατὰ τὸν κανόνα
16
εἰς τὰ ὑπερέκεινα ὑμῶν εὐαγγελίσασθαι,purpose — the pioneer aim — τὰ ὑπερέκεινα (only here in the NT); cf. Rom 15:20–24
οὐκ ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ κανόνι εἰς τὰ ἕτοιμα καυχήσασθαι.purpose — the antithesis — the third κανών; τὰ ἕτοιμα, another's finished work claimed as spoil
vv. 17–18 — boast only in the Lord
17
Ὁ δὲ καυχώμενος ἐν κυρίῳ καυχάσθω·content — Jer 9:24 (LXX; cf. 1 Cor 1:31) — quoted without a citation formula, hung on the very καυχήσασθαι it corrects
18
οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἑαυτὸν συνιστάνων, ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν δόκιμος,cause — the ground of the maxim — δόκιμος, assay-tested; the self-commendation of v. 12 finally judged
ἀλλὰ ὃν ὁ κύριος συνίστησιν.relative — headless relative — '[he is δόκιμος] whom the Lord commends'; the matrix elliptical
Analysis. 2 Corinthians 10 opens the letter's final defense (chs. 10–13), and the shape shows three postures. In vv. 1–6 two quiet main verbs (παρακαλῶ, δέομαι) carry the appeal, and then one military indicative — οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα — becomes the hook for the whole campaign: the verbless ground about the weapons (οὐ σαρκικὰ ἀλλὰ δυνατὰ τῷ θεῷ) and a three-participle chain (καθαιροῦντες, αἰχμαλωτίζοντες, ἔχοντες) all hang at one depth beneath it — siege, deportation, and readiness in a single column. Verses 7–11 read almost as diatribe: flush-left imperatival ripostes (λογιζέσθω, twice) with olive protases leaning forward on them, and — the section's crux — the opponents' own verdict of v. 10 quoted inside Paul's sentence: the layout takes the ὅτι as causal-recitative under δόξω and hangs the verdict's second and third limbs as content under the parenthetical φησίν itself, since the quotation has no other verb of saying. Verses 12–18 descend step by step from the refusal to self-compare (the fronted sevenfold-ἑαυτ- participle line leaning on the deadpan οὐ συνιᾶσιν) through the κανών argument to the chapter's one Scripture: the layout reads κανών as God's allotted mission-field rather than an abstract 'rule,' takes the notoriously knotted οὗ … μέτρου of v. 13 as relative attraction plus resumptive apposition, and hangs the formula-less Jer 9:24 maxim (Ὁ δὲ καυχώμενος ἐν κυρίῳ καυχάσθω) as content under the very καυχήσασθαι it corrects, with v. 18's verdict — the Lord's commendation, not self-commendation — grounding it beneath. Also flagged: βλέπετε in v. 7 may be indicative or imperative (left open), and the ἵνα of v. 9 is taken with v. 8 rather than across v. 10 to v. 11.