2 Corinthians 13

This will be my third visit to you. Every charge must be backed up by the word of two or three witnesses.

1This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

NoteThe second sentence quotes a rule from Israel's law (Deuteronomy 19:15): no charge could be upheld in court on one person's word alone. "Every word" here means every matter or accusation, not every spoken word. Paul is telling the Corinthians that when he arrives he will follow proper procedure, and possibly also that his repeated visits themselves count as the required testimony.

2I gave a warning when I was with you the second time, and I give it again now while I am away. I say this to those who sinned before and to everyone else: if I come back, I will not spare anyone.

2I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:

NotePaul counts the visit ahead as his third, so he had already been to Corinth twice. In the Greek it is not certain whether "the second time" attaches to the visit he made or to the warning he gave; the sentence can be read either way, and translators have to pick one.

3You are asking for proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in the way he deals with you; he is powerful among you.

3Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

Note"To you-ward" is old English for "toward you," that is, in his dealings with you.

4It is true that he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. We are weak too, as he was, but by God's power we will live with him as we work for you.

4For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

5Look closely at yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Don't you know that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test.

5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

NoteThe King James "reprobates" translates a word that means "failing the test," the opposite of "approved" in verse 7. It was used of metal that did not pass assay. The word does not carry the later English sense of a degenerate or immoral person. "Prove your own selves" likewise means test yourselves, not demonstrate something to others. Paul is playing on this pair of words through verses 5 to 7.

6But I trust you will come to see that we have not failed the test.

6But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

7Now I pray to God that you will do nothing wrong. This is not so that we will look approved. It is so that you will do what is right, even if we end up looking like failures.

7Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.

Note"Honest" in 1611 meant honorable, fitting, what is right in the eyes of others; it was not limited to truth telling. "Approved" is the word that passes the test, set against "reprobates," the word that fails it.

8For we can do nothing against the truth. We can only work for it.

8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

9We are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this is what we pray for: that you will be put right and made complete.

9For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

Note"Perfection" here translates a word for mending or setting right: repairing a torn net, resetting a dislocated bone, putting something back into working order. It is about being restored and made whole rather than being flawless.

10This is why I write these things while I am away. Then, when I come, I will not have to be harsh in using the authority the Lord gave me. He gave it to build you up, not to tear you down.

10Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

Note"Edification" is building language, from the word for a house. Paul regularly describes his work as construction and its opposite as demolition.

11Finally, brothers and sisters, goodbye. Set things right among you. Take heart. Agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

11Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

NoteThe Greek word behind "farewell" was the ordinary word for "rejoice," and it doubled as a parting greeting, so it can be read either way here. "Be perfect" is the same mending word as in verse 9: let what is broken among you be set right. "Brethren" was the standard address to a whole congregation, women included.

12Greet one another with a holy kiss.

12Greet one another with an holy kiss.

NoteA kiss on the cheek was a normal greeting between family and close friends in the ancient Mediterranean world. Calling it "holy" marks it as the greeting used among members of the congregation when they met.

13All of God's people here send you their greetings.

13All the saints salute you.

Note"Saints" translates a word meaning those set apart as God's own. In Paul's letters it is his usual term for ordinary members of the churches, not for a select few of exceptional holiness. "Salute" simply means greet.

14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the sharing in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Note"Communion" translates koinonia, which covers both sharing in something and partnership with one another; the Greek here can mean sharing in the Holy Spirit or the fellowship the Spirit creates, and readers have taken it both ways. "Ghost" in 1611 English meant spirit, with none of the modern sense of an apparition. Many modern Bibles number this as verse 13, having combined the two greetings above.