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13 This third time do I come unto you; on the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every saying be established;

I 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,

since a proof ye seek of the Christ speaking in me, who to you is not infirm, but is powerful in you,

for 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.

Your ownselves try ye, if ye are in the faith; your ownselves prove ye; do ye not know your ownselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, if ye be not in some respect disapproved of?

and I hope that ye shall know that we -- we are not disapproved of;

and 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;

for we are not able to do anything against the truth, but for the truth;

for we rejoice when we may be infirm, and ye may be powerful; and this also we pray for -- your perfection!

10 because 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.

11 Henceforth, 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;

12 salute one another in an holy kiss;

13 salute you do all the saints;

14 the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, [is] with you all! Amen.

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) 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, 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. 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.

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? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 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. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 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

  1. 2 Corinthians 13:1 Deut. 19:15