| Geneva Study Bible That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. People's New Testament 10:9,10 That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. His enemies said that his letters were weighty and stern, but his presence was very different. In other words, he terrified by empty threats. Wesley's Notes 10:9 I say this, that I may not seem to terrify you by letters - Threatening more than I can perform. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary 9. I say this lest I should seem to be terrifying you, as children, with empty threats [Bengel]. Estius explains, "I might boast more of my authority, but I forbear to do so, that I may not seem as if," &c. But this ellipsis is harsh: and 2Co 10:10, 11 confirm Bengel's view. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 10:7-11 In outward appearance, Paul was mean and despised in the eyes of some, but this was a false rule to judge by. We must not think that none outward appearance, as if the want of such things proved a man not to be a real Christian, or an able, faithful minister of the lowly Saviour. | 
