Examine Yourselves
1This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 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: 3Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in 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.
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? 6But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. 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. 8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. 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.
Final Greetings and Blessing
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. 12Greet one another with an holy kiss. 13All the saints salute you.
14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. {The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Examine Yourselves
1 This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” 2 I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before now, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare; 3 seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me; who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you. 4 For he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we will live with him through the power of God toward you.
5 Test your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. 6 But I hope that you will know that we aren’t disqualified. 7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we are as reprobate. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. And this we also pray for, even your perfecting. 10 For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for tearing down.
Benediction and Farewell
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you.
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
Examine Yourselves
1 This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” a
2 I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. And though we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him to serve you.
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you actually fail the test? 6 And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test.
7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 In fact, we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection.
10 This is why I write these things while absent, so that when I am present I will not need to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
Benediction and Farewell
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice! Aim for perfect harmony, encourage one another, b be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13 All the saints send you greetings.
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. c
Footnotes:
1 a Deuteronomy 19:15
11 b Or listen to my appeal
14 c Texts vary in verse numbering for the last three verses of this chapter. BYZ ends with Amen .
Examine Yourselves
1This third time do I come unto you; on the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every saying be established; 2I have said before, and I say it before, as being present, the second time, and being absent, now, do I write to those having sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare, 3since a proof ye seek of the Christ speaking in me, who to you is not infirm, but is powerful in you, 4for even if he was crucified from infirmity, yet he doth live from the power of God; for we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him from the power of God toward you.
5Your own selves try ye, if ye are in the faith; your own selves prove ye; do ye not know your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you, if ye be not in some respect disapproved of? 6and I hope that ye shall know that we -- we are not disapproved of; 7and I pray before God that ye do no evil, not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do that which is right, and we may be as disapproved; 8for we are not able to do anything against the truth, but for the truth; 9for we rejoice when we may be infirm, and ye may be powerful; and this also we pray for -- your perfection! 10because of this, these things -- being absent -- I write, that being present, I may not treat any sharply, according to the authority that the Lord did give me for building up, and not for casting down.
Final Greetings and Blessing
11Henceforth, brethren, rejoice; be made perfect, be comforted, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of the love and peace shall be with you; 12salute one another in an holy kiss; 13salute you do all the saints;
14the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, is with you all! Amen.
Paul’s Final Warnings and Instructions
¹ This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”* ² On my previous visits, I warned those who sinned earlier and all the others. I now repeat my warning in the hope that when I come again, I will not have to be harsh in dealing with you.
³ Since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. ⁴ For to be sure, He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him in our dealing with you.*
Examine Yourselves
⁵ Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test! ⁶ And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.
⁷ Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.
⁹ We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. ¹⁰ This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.*
Final Greetings
¹¹ Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³ All God’s people here send their greetings. ¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!*
Footnotes:
•13:1: The reference to “two or three witnesses” draws from Jewish legal practice, emphasizing the importance of established testimony for accountability and discipline.
•13:4: Paul’s reminder of Christ’s crucifixion in weakness contrasts with His resurrection power, illustrating the duality of suffering and strength in the Christian faith.
•13:5: The call to “examine yourselves” encourages personal reflection on one’s faith and relationship with Christ, underscoring the importance of self-assessment.
•13:7: Paul emphasizes the distinction between appearance and true faith, stressing that genuine strength is found in righteousness, not in outward show.
•13:10: The authority given to Paul is meant for edification rather than punishment, reflecting his pastoral heart for the Corinthian believers.
•13:11: Paul’s final exhortation encourages unity, restoration, and peace among the believers, highlighting the core values of the Christian community.
•13:12: The “holy kiss” represents a cultural expression of fellowship and love among believers, serving as a tangible reminder of the unity in the body of Christ.
