2 Corinthians Chapter 1
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul's Afflictions
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so also through Christ we share abundantly in comfort.
6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we also suffer.
7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our strength, so that we despaired of life itself.
9 But we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
11 as you also help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the grace given us through the prayers of many.
Why Paul postponed his visit to Corinth
12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that we conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by human wisdom but by the grace of God.
13 For we do not write anything other than what you read and understand; and I hope that you will understand it fully,
14 as you have also partly understood that we are your glory, just as you are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15 With this confidence I wanted to come to you first, so that you might receive a second grace,
16 and then through you to Macedonia, and from Macedonia to come to you again, and be sent on my way by you to Judea.
17 When I planned this, did I act rashly? Or am I planning my actions according to the flesh, so that with me there may be both Yes and No?
18 But as God is faithful, our word to you is not Yes and No.
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silas, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in him it has always been Yes.
20 For all the promises of God in him are Yes, and in him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
23 I call God as my witness that it was to spare you that I have not yet come to Corinth.
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.
2 Corinthians Chapter 2
1 So I resolved to never again come to you in sorrow.
2 For if I cause you sorrow, who will then rejoice with me except the one I have caused sorrow?
3 And I am writing these things to you so that when I come I may not have sorrow from those in whom I ought to rejoice, trusting in you all that my joy is yours.
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to grieve you, but to let you know how great is my love for you.
Paul forgives the offender
5 But if anyone has caused me grief, he has not grieved me alone, but in some measure—not to put it too strongly—all of you.
6 Such a person has enough of the rebuke inflicted by the majority.
7 So you ought to forgive and comfort him, lest he be overwhelmed with grief.
8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.
9 For this is also why I wrote to you, to test whether you are obedient in everything.
10 And whomever you forgive, I also forgive. For what I have forgiven, if anything, I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sakes,
11 so that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Paul's anxiety in Troas
12 When I arrived in Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, although a door was opened to me in the Lord,
13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus; so, taking leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.
Triumphant in Christ
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
16 To the one we are an aroma that leads to death; to the other, an aroma that leads to life. And who is equal to such a task?
17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, as from God, we speak in Christ before God with sincerity.
2 Corinthians Chapter 3
Ministers of the new pact
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves all over again? Or do we need, like some, letters of recommendation to you, or from you?
2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God.
5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, which was fading away,
8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be!
9 For if the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
10 For what was glorious in this respect has no glory in comparison with the surpassing glory.
11 For if what is fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which remains!
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was passing away.
14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only in Christ is it taken away.
15 Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians Chapter 4
1 Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy we have received, we do not lose heart.
2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ
Living by faith
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our bodies.
11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.
12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 Having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we also believe and therefore speak,
14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you.
15 For all these things we suffer for your sakes, so that grace, as it abounds through more and more people, thanksgiving may overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians Chapter 5
1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not made with hands.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
3 so that we may be found clothed and not naked.
4 For while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but because we want to be clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now he who has prepared us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your consciences.
12 Therefore, we are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may have something to say to those who boast in outward appearance rather than in what is in the heart.
13 If we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are in our right minds, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Even though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians Chapter 6
1 As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
3 We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.
4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;
5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;
6 in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit and sincere love;
7 in speaking truthfully and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;
8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; as deceivers, yet true;
9 as unknown, yet well known; As dying, and behold, we live; as punished, but not killed;
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
11 Our mouths are open to you, Corinthians, and our hearts are enlarged.
12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own hearts.
13 In return—I speak as to children—enlarge yourselves also.
We are the temple of the living God
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
17 Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.
18 I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians Chapter 7
1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Paul's rejoicing at the Corinthians' repentance
2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, or deceived no one.
3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die and to live together.
4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am filled with comfort and overflowing with joy in all our troubles.
5 For when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
7 And not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted concerning you, when he told us of your longing, your mourning, your concern for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
8 For though I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it then; for I see that that letter, though only for a little while, grieved you.
9 Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved in a godly way, so that you might not suffer loss in anything from us.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
11 For behold, this very thing, your godly grief, what earnestness it produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what earnest desire, what zeal, and what vindication! In every way you proved yourselves innocent in this matter.
12 So, although I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did the wrong, nor because of the one who suffered it, but so that our concern for you might be made clear to you in the sight of God.
13 We have been comforted by your comfort, and we rejoice even more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
14 For if I have boasted to him about you in any way, I have not been put to shame. For just as we have spoken the truth to you in everything, so also our boasting about Titus proved true.
15 And his affection for you is even greater when he remembers the obedience of all of you, how you received him with fear and trembling.
16 I rejoice because I have complete confidence in you.
2 Corinthians Chapter 8
The offering for the saints
1 Now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.
4 Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.
5 And they exceeded our expectations. They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God gave themselves to us.
6 So we urged Titus to complete this grace among you, just as he began.
7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love you have for us—see that you also excel in this grace.
8 I am not commanding you, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
10 And this is my advice to you, since last year you were the first not only to begin but also to desire to do it.
11 Now finish the work, so that your eagerness to desire may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.
12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
13 I do not say this so that others may be prosperous and you burdened,
14 but so that at the present time your abundance may supply their need, and their abundance may also supply your need, that there may be equality.
15 As it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
16 But thanks be to God, who put the same eagerness for you into the heart of Titus.
17 For he accepted our appeal, and being very eager, he left of his own accord to come to you.
18 And we are sending with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is heard throughout all the churches.
19 Not only that, but he was also chosen by the churches to accompany us on our journey to carry this gift, which we are administering for the glory of the Lord himself and to show your willingness to help.
20 We are taking care to avoid any criticism of us regarding this generous gift we are administering,
21 as we strive to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.
22 We are also sending with them our brother, whose diligence we have often tested in many ways, and now he is even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.
23 Titus is my partner and fellow worker among you. Our brothers are ambassadors for the churches and a glory to Christ.
24 Therefore, show them the proof of your love and of our boasting about you in the presence of the churches.
2 Corinthians Chapter 9
1 Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you,
2 for I know your eagerness, of which I boast to the Macedonians that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred most of them to action.
3 But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you in this matter may not be in vain, but that, as I have said, you may be ready.
4 Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to mention you—might be ashamed of this confidence of ours.
5 For this reason, I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go to you first and arrange in advance for your promised gift, so that it may be ready as a gift, not as something we have demanded.
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9 As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
13 For they glorify God through the experience of this service for your obedience to the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in providing for them and for all others.
14 They also glorify God in their prayers for you, for they love you because of God’s surpassing grace in you.
15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians Chapter 10
Paul defends his ministry
1 I, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent—
2 I beg that when I am present I may not have to be as bold as I am in my present state with some who regard us as living according to the flesh.
3 For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but have divine power to demolish strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is complete.
7 You are perceiving things by outward appearance. If anyone is confident in himself that he belongs to Christ, let him consider this also: that just as he belongs to Christ, so also we belong to Christ.
8 For even if I boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed,
9 so that it may not seem as though I were trying to frighten you by letter.
10 For they say, “Letters are weighty and powerful, but a person in the body is weak, and speech is contemptible.”
11 Let such a person take note of this: Just as we are in word by letter when absent, so we will be in deed when present.
12 For we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves with themselves, are not wise.
13 But we will not boast beyond measure, but in accordance with the rule God has given us as a measure, that we may reach even to you.
14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not come to you. For we were the first to come to you with the gospel of Christ.
15 We do not boast beyond measure in other people’s work, but we hope that as your faith grows, we will be greatly enlarged among you, according to our rule,
16 and that we will preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, without taking part in someone else’s work to boast in what has already been prepared.
17 But let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.
18 For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but he whom God commends.
2 Corinthians Chapter 11
1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness! Yes, bear with me.
2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, to present you as a pure virgin to him.
3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
5 I do not consider myself in the least inferior to those super-apostles.
6 Though I am unskilled in speech, I am not unskilled in knowledge. In every way we have made this clear to you.
7 Did I sin by humbling myself to exalt you, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?
8 I robbed other churches, receiving wages to serve you.
9 And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I lacked. In everything, I have refrained from being a burden to you, and I will continue to do so.
10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be cut off in the regions of Achaia.
11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that.
12 But what I am doing, I will continue to do in order to cut off the opportunity for those who want to be considered our equals in the things they boast about.
13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Paul's sufferings as an apostle
16 Again I say, let no one think me a fool. But if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.
17 What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in a foolish way, in this confidence of boasting.
18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.
19 For you gladly put up with fools, being that you yourselves are wise.
20 For you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone devours you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone exalts himself, if someone strikes you in the face.
21 To my shame I say, we were too weak for this. But whatever another is bold enough to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I am bold enough also.
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more so: I have worked much harder, been flogged more severely, been in prison more frequently, and been exposed to death again and again.
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
26 I have been constantly on the move, in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from my own people, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in danger at sea, and in danger from false believers.
27 I have worked hard and toiled, often sleeping late, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
32 In Damascus, the governor of the province of King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to arrest me;
33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.
2 Corinthians Chapter 12
The sting in the flesh
1 It is certainly not expedient for me to boast; but I will come to visions and revelations from the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—
4 how he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
5 Of such a man I will boast; but of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses.
6 Even if I chose to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so that no one may think more of me than what he sees in me or hears from me.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
11 I have been a fool in boasting, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the super-apostles, even though I am nothing.
12 Nevertheless, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all patience, by signs, wonders, and miracles.
13 For in what way were you less than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!
Pablo announces his third visit
14 Behold, I am ready to come to you for the third time; and I will not be a burden to you, for I do not seek what is yours, but you yourselves; for children are not obligated to lay up treasure for their parents, but parents for their children.
15 And I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. Though the more I love you, the less I am loved.
16 But admit this, that I was not a burden to you, but being crafty, I caught you by deception.
17 Did I deceive you through any of those whom I sent to you?
18 I urged Titus, and with him I sent the brother. Did Titus deceive you? Did we not act in the same spirit and walk in the same footsteps?
19 Do you still think we are making excuses to you? Before God in Christ we speak, and all this, beloved, is for your edification.
20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. that there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, divisions, slander, gossip, pride, and disorder among you;
21 that when I come, my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many who have sinned before and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery they have practiced.
2 Corinthians Chapter 13
1 This is my third visit to you. Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
2 I have said before, and now say again as though I were present, and now absent, I write to those who sinned before and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare you.
3 For you are seeking proof that Christ speaks through me, who is not weak toward you but is powerful in you.
4 For though he was crucified in weakness, he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him for you.
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize this about yourselves, that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
6 But I hope you will realize that we do not fail the test.
7 And we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. not so that we may appear approved, but so that you may do what is good, even though we may seem to have failed.
8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
9 Therefore we rejoice that we are weak and you are strong; and we pray for your fullness.
10 For this reason I am writing to you while I am absent, so that when I come I may not have to be harsh. I live according to the authority the Lord has given me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
Greetings and final doxology
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, strive for perfection, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of peace and love 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, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.