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2 Corinthians 13
New International Version
2 Corinthians 13
New International Version
Final Warnings
13 This will be my third visit to you.(A) “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”[a](B) 2 I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent:(C) On my return I will not spare(D) those who sinned earlier(E) or any of the others, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.(F) He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness,(G) yet he lives by God’s power.(H) Likewise, we are weak(I) in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him(J) in our dealing with you.
5 Examine yourselves(K) to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.(L) Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you(M)—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(N) but you are strong;(O) and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.(P) 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh(Q) in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.(R)
Final Greetings
11 Finally, brothers and sisters,(S) rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.(T) And the God of love(U) and peace(V) will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.(W) 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.(X)
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,(Y) and the love of God,(Z) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit(AA) be with you all.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 13:1 Deut. 19:15
2 Corinthians 13
New King James Version
2 Corinthians 13
New King James Version
Coming with Authority
13 This will be (A)the third time I am coming to you. (B)“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” 2 (C)I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent [a]I write to those (D)who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again (E)I will not spare— 3 since you seek a proof of Christ (F)speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty (G)in you. 4 (H)For though He was crucified in weakness, yet (I)He lives by the power of God. For (J)we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, (K)that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you [b]are (L)disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
Paul Prefers Gentleness
7 Now [c]I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though (M)we may seem disqualified. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad (N)when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, (O)that you may be made complete. 10 (P)Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the (Q)authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.
Greetings and Benediction
11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. (R)Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love (S)and peace will be with you.
12 (T)Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13 All the saints greet you.
14 (U)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and (V)the [d]communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 13:2 NU omits I write
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 do not stand the test
- 2 Corinthians 13:7 NU we
- 2 Corinthians 13:14 fellowship
2 Corinthians 13
New Living Translation
2 Corinthians 13
New Living Translation
Paul’s Final Advice
13 This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”[a]). 2 I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them.
3 I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. 4 Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power.
5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you[b]; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. 6 As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.
7 We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. 8 For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. 9 We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature.
10 I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.
Paul’s Final Greetings
11 Dear brothers and sisters,[c] I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet each other with a sacred kiss. 13 All of God’s people here send you their greetings.
14 [d]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 Deut 19:15.
- 13:5 Or in you.
- 13:11 Greek Brothers.
- 13:14 Some English translations include verse 13 as part of verse 12, and then verse 14 becomes verse 13.
2 Corinthians 13
Good News Translation
2 Corinthians 13
Good News Translation
Final Warnings and Greetings
13 (A)This is now the third time that I am coming to visit you. “Any accusation must be upheld by the evidence of two or more witnesses”—as the scripture says. 2 I want to tell those of you who have sinned in the past, and all the others; I said it before during my second visit to you, but I will say it again now that I am away: the next time I come nobody will escape punishment. 3 You will have all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. When he deals with you, he is not weak; instead, he shows his power among you. 4 For even though it was in weakness that he was put to death on the cross, it is by God's power that he lives. In union with him we also are weak; but in our relations with you we shall share God's power in his life.
5 Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith. Surely you know that Christ Jesus is in you?—unless you have completely failed. 6 I trust you will know that we are not failures. 7 We pray to God that you will do no wrong—not in order to show that we are a success, but so that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to be failures. 8 For we cannot do a thing against the truth, but only for it. 9 We are glad when we are weak but you are strong. And so we also pray that you will become perfect. 10 That is why I write this while I am away from you; it is so that when I arrive I will not have to deal harshly with you in using the authority that the Lord has given me—authority to build you up, not to tear you down.
11 And now, my friends, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with the kiss of peace.
All of God's people send you their greetings.
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 Corinthians 13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Further Warning
13 This is the third time I am coming to you. “Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”(A) 2 I warned those who sinned previously and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not be lenient— 3 since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you but is powerful in you.(B) 4 For he was crucified in weakness but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him,[a] but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.(C)
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!(D) 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth but only for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong. This is what we pray for, that you may be restored.(E) 10 So I write these things while I am away from you, so that when I come I may not have to be severe in using the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.(F)
Final Greetings and Benediction
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell.[b] Be restored; listen to my appeal;[c] agree with one another; live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.(G) 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.(H)
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of[d] the Holy Spirit be with all of you.(I)
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.