King James Version
2 Corinthians 13
14 verses with commentary
Final Warnings
This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>This is the third time I am coming to you</strong>—Paul announces his impending third visit to Corinth, invoking the legal principle from Deuteronomy 19:15 that <strong>in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established</strong>. The Greek <em>martyrōn</em> (μαρτύρων, "witnesses") establishes judicial authority. Paul frames his apostolic visits themselves as witnesses a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XIII.
(1) **This is the third time I am coming to you.**—The words may point either to three actual visits—(1) that of Acts 18:1; (2) an unrecorded visit (of which, however, there is no trace), during St. Paul’s stay at Ephesus; and (3) that now in contemplation—or (1) to one actual visit, as before; (2) the purposed visit which had been abandoned (see Notes on 2Corinthians 1:16); and (3) that whi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. If so be, &c.--**Our "desire" holds good, should the Lord's coming find us alive. Translate, "If so be that having ourselves clothed (with our natural body, compare 2Co 5:4) we shall not be found naked (stripped of our present body)."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The necessity and advantage of the grace of love.(1-3)
Its excellency represented by its properties and effects;
(4-7)
and by its abiding, and its superiority.
(8-13)
**Verses 1-3**
The excellent way had in view in the close of the former chapter, is not what is meant by charity in our common use of the word, almsgiving, but love in its full...
Read full commentary →I 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:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I told you before, and foretell you</strong>—Paul employs the Greek <em>proeirēka</em> (προείρηκα, "I have said beforehand") and <em>prolegō</em> (προλέγω, "I say beforehand"), legal terminology of formal warning. His phrase <strong>if I come again, I will not spare</strong> uses <em>ou pheisomai</em> (οὐ φείσομαι), the same verb describing God not sparing His own Son (Romans 8:32)—indicat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **I told you before, and foretell you . . .**—Better, *I have warned you before* (referring, probably, to the threat of 1Corinthians 4:13-19, and implied in 2Corinthians 1:23). The chief objects of this rigour were to be those whom he had described previously as “having sinned beforehand” (see Note on 2Corinthians 12:21); but he adds that his work as judge will extend to *all the rest* of the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. For--**resuming 2Co 5:2.
**being burdened: not for that--**rather, "in that we desire not to have ourselves unclothed (of our present body), but clothed upon (with our heavenly body).
**that mortality, &c.--**rather, "that what is mortal (our mortal part) may be swallowed up of (absorbed and transformed into) life." Believers shrink from, not the consequences, but the mere act of dyin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The necessity and advantage of the grace of love.(1-3)
Its excellency represented by its properties and effects;
(4-7)
and by its abiding, and its superiority.
(8-13)
**Verses 1-3**
The excellent way had in view in the close of the former chapter, is not what is meant by charity in our common use of the word, almsgiving, but love in its full...
Read full commentary →Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me</strong>—The Greek <em>dokimēn</em> (δοκιμήν, "proof/testing") is the crucial term: the Corinthians demand credentials demonstrating apostolic authority. Paul responds that <strong>Christ speaking in me</strong> is validated not by rhetorical polish but by power: <strong>which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you</strong>. The paradox...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Which to you-ward is not weak.**—There is still a touch of indignant sadness in the tone in which the words are uttered. Men will not be able to cast that reproach of weakness upon Him whose might they will feel all too keenly.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. wrought us--**framed us by redemption, justification, and sanctification.
**for the selfsame thing--**"unto" it; namely, unto what is mortal of us being swallowed up in life (2Co 5:4).
**who also--**The oldest manuscripts omit "also."
**earnest of the Spirit--**(See on 2Co 1:22). It is the Spirit (as "the first-fruits") who creates in us the groaning desire for our coming deliverance an...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The necessity and advantage of the grace of love.(1-3)
Its excellency represented by its properties and effects;
(4-7)
and by its abiding, and its superiority.
(8-13)
**Verses 1-3**
The excellent way had in view in the close of the former chapter, is not what is meant by charity in our common use of the word, almsgiving, but love in its full...
Read full commentary →For 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. in him: or, with him
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For though he was crucified through weakness</strong>—Paul grounds his apostolic pattern in Christ's own paradox: apparent <em>astheneia</em> (ἀσθένεια, "weakness") at the cross concealed ultimate power. The phrase <strong>yet he liveth by the power of God</strong> (<em>ek dynameōs theou</em>, ἐκ δυνάμεως θεοῦ) reveals resurrection power emerging from cruciform weakness. This is the patter...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **For though he was crucified through weakness . . .**—The better MSS. give another reading, without the contingent or concessive clause: *For even He was crucified.* St. Paul seems to see in Christ the highest representative instance of the axiomatic law by which he himself had been comforted, that strength is perfected in infirmities. For He too lived encompassed with the infirmities of man’...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. Translate as Greek, "Being therefore always confident and knowing," &c. He had intended to have made the verb to this nominative, "we are willing" (rather, "well content"), but digressing on the word "confident" (2Co 5:6, 7), he resumes the word in a different form, namely, as an assertion: "We are confident and well content." "Being confident ... we are confident" may be the Hebraic idiom ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Some of the effects of charity are stated, that we may know whether we have this grace; and that if we have not, we may not rest till we have it. This love is a clear proof of regeneration, and is a touchstone of our professed faith in Christ. In this beautiful description of the nature and effects of love, it is meant to show the Corinthians that their conduct had, in many resp...
Read full commentary →Examine Yourselves
Examine 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 ?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves</strong>—Paul turns the tables: those demanding proof (<em>dokimēn</em>, v. 3) of Paul's authority must now <em>dokimazete</em> (δοκιμάζετε, "examine/test") themselves. The present imperative demands ongoing self-examination. The phrase <strong>whether ye be in the faith</strong> (<em>ei este en tē pistei</em>, εἰ ἐστὲ ἐ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.**—The position of “yourselves” in the Greek (before the verb in both clauses) shows that that is the word on which stress is emphatically laid, and the thought grows out of what had been said in 2Corinthians 13:3 : “You seek a test of my power. Apply a test to *yourselves.* Try *yourselves* whether you are living and movi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. we walk--**in our Christian course here on earth.
**not by sight--**Greek, "not by appearance." Our life is governed by faith in our immortal hope; not by the outward specious appearance of present things [Tittmann, Greek Synonyms of the New Testament]. Compare "apparently," the Septuagint, "by appearance," Nu 12:8. Wahl supports English Version. 2Co 4:18 also confirms it (compare Ro 8:24; ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Some of the effects of charity are stated, that we may know whether we have this grace; and that if we have not, we may not rest till we have it. This love is a clear proof of regeneration, and is a touchstone of our professed faith in Christ. In this beautiful description of the nature and effects of love, it is meant to show the Corinthians that their conduct had, in many resp...
Read full commentary →But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates</strong>—Paul expresses confidence (<em>elpizō</em>, ἐλπίζω, "I hope/trust") that the Corinthians will recognize his apostolic authenticity. The irony: Paul hopes they'll discover <em>he</em> is not <em>adokimos</em> (ἀδόκιμος, "disqualified/reprobate") precisely as they examine <em>themselves</em>. If they pass their self-examinati...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **But I trust . . .**—Better, *But I hope* . . . The “we” that follows is emphatic: “whether *you* fail to pass the test or not, I have a good hope that you will know that *we* do not fail, whether the test be that which you demand (2Corinthians 13:3), or that which I apply to myself as in the sight of God.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. willing--**literally, "well content." Translate also, "To go (literally, migrate) from our home in the body, and to come to our home with the Lord." We should prefer to be found alive at the Lord's coming, and to be clothed upon with our heavenly body (2Co 5:2-4). But feeling, as we do, the sojourn in the body to be a separation from our true home "with the Lord," we prefer even dissolution b...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Some of the effects of charity are stated, that we may know whether we have this grace; and that if we have not, we may not rest till we have it. This love is a clear proof of regeneration, and is a touchstone of our professed faith in Christ. In this beautiful description of the nature and effects of love, it is meant to show the Corinthians that their conduct had, in many resp...
Read full commentary →Now 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now I pray to God that ye do no evil</strong>—Paul's priority is their holiness, not his vindication. The Greek <em>euchomai</em> (εὔχομαι, "I pray") emphasizes earnest petition. His goal: <strong>that ye should do that which is honest</strong> (<em>to kalon</em>, τὸ καλόν, "the noble/good/beautiful thing")—ethical beauty reflecting God's character.<br><br><strong>Not that we should appear...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Now I pray to God that ye do no evil.**—The better MSS. give, *we pray.* The words that follow involve a subtle play of thought and feeling on the two forms of the trial or scrutiny of which he has just spoken. “We pray,” he says, “that you may be kept from doing evil. Our purpose in that prayer is not that *we* may gain a reputation as successful workers in your eyes or those of others, but...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. Wherefore--**with such a sure "confidence" of being blessed, whether we die before, or be found alive at Christ's coming.
**we labour--**literally, "make it our ambition"; the only lawful ambition.
**whether present or absent--**whether we be found at His coming present in the body, or absent from it.
**accepted--**Greek, "well-pleasing."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-7**
Some of the effects of charity are stated, that we may know whether we have this grace; and that if we have not, we may not rest till we have it. This love is a clear proof of regeneration, and is a touchstone of our professed faith in Christ. In this beautiful description of the nature and effects of love, it is meant to show the Corinthians that their conduct had, in many resp...
Read full commentary →For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth</strong>—A principle statement: Paul's apostolic authority is bound by truth (<em>alētheia</em>, ἀλήθεια), not arbitrary power. He cannot wield authority <strong>against the truth</strong> (to harm what is true and right), only <strong>for the truth</strong> (to advance it). This limits and directs apostolic power—authority exists ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **For we can do nothing against the truth.**—Better, perhaps, *we are powerless.* Here, again, the meaning lies below the surface. The first impression which the words convey is that he is asserting his own thoroughness as a champion of the truth, so that it was a moral impossibility for him to do anything against it. The true sequence of thought, however, though it does not exclude that meani...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. appear--**rather, "be made manifest," namely, in our true character. So "appear," Greek, "be manifested" (Col 3:4; compare 1Co 4:5). We are at all times, even now, manifest to God; then we shall be so to the assembled intelligent universe and to ourselves: for the judgment shall be not only in order to assign the everlasting portion to each, but to vindicate God's righteousness, so that it s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-13**
Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhood, the future that of manhood. Such is the difference between earth and heaven. What narrow views, what confused notions of things, have children when compared with grown men! Thus shall...
Read full commentary →For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. perfection: or, reformation, or, restoration
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong</strong>—Paul rejoices in role reversal: his weakness (<em>asthenōmen</em>, ἀσθενῶμεν, "we are weak") alongside their strength (<em>dynatoi</em>, δυνατοί, "you are strong"). If they're spiritually strong, Paul appears weak (no discipline needed), but that's precisely his desire. This inverts worldly power dynamics: the apostle's joy come...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **For we are glad, when we are weak . . .**—The last words cover many shades of meaning. We may think of the weakness of his bodily presence, of his physical infirmities, of the apparent failure of his supernatural powers because the condition of the Corinthian Church, as walking in faith and truth, presented no opening for their exercise. He can find cause for joy in all these, if only the di...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. terror of the Lord--**the coming judgment, so full of terrors to unbelievers [Estius]. Ellicott and Alford, after Grotius and Bengel, translate, "The fear of the Lord" (2Co 7:1; Ec 12:13; Ac 9:31; Ro 3:18; Ep 5:21).
**persuade--**Ministers should use the terrors of the Lord to persuade men, not to rouse their enmity (Jude 23). Bengel, Estius, and Alford explain: "Persuade men" (by our whol...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-13**
Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhood, the future that of manhood. Such is the difference between earth and heaven. What narrow views, what confused notions of things, have children when compared with grown men! Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Therefore 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness</strong>—Paul's letter provides opportunity for repentance before his arrival. The word <em>apotomōs</em> (ἀποτόμως, "sharpness/severity") suggests cutting, decisive discipline. By writing <strong>being absent</strong> (<em>apōn</em>, ἀπών), Paul gives time for response, preferring repentance to confront...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Therefore I write these things being absent . . .**—The words speak of an inner conflict, in which love has triumphed, not without pain, over feelings of bitterness and indignation. The storm has passed, and the sky is again clear. He does not recall what he has written, but he explains and half-apologises for it. It was better to speak with severity than to act. But even had it been necess...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. For--**the reason why he leaves the manifestation of his sincerity in preaching to their consciences (2Co 3:1), namely, his not wishing to "commend" himself again.
**occasion to glory--**(2Co 1:14), namely, as to our sincerity.
**in appearance--**Greek, "face" (compare 1Sa 16:7). The false teachers gloried in their outward appearance, and in external recommendations (2Co 11:18) their lea...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-13**
Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhood, the future that of manhood. Such is the difference between earth and heaven. What narrow views, what confused notions of things, have children when compared with grown men! Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Final Greetings
Finally, 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Finally, brethren, farewell</strong>—The Greek <em>loipon</em> (λοιπόν, "finally") and <em>chairete</em> (χαίρετε, "rejoice/farewell") signal closing exhortations. Paul transitions from stern warning to brotherly encouragement. <strong>Be perfect</strong> (<em>katartizesthe</em>, καταρτίζεσθε, "be restored/complete/mended")—present imperative, ongoing process of being made complete, using ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Finally, brethren, farewell.**—The word (literally, *rejoice*) was the natural close of a Greek letter, and is therefore adequately represented by the English “farewell,” if only we remember that it was used in all the fulness of its meaning. “Rejoice—let that be our last word to you.”
**Be perfect.**—Better, as before, *restore yourselves to completeness; amend yourselves.* In the words “b...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. be--**rather as Greek, "have been." The contrast is between the single act implied by the past tense, "If we have ever been beside ourselves," and the habitual state implied by the present, "Or whether we be sober," that is, of sound mind. beside ourselves--The accusation brought by Festus against him (Ac 26:24). The holy enthusiasm with which he spake of what God effected by His apostolic m...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-13**
Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhood, the future that of manhood. Such is the difference between earth and heaven. What narrow views, what confused notions of things, have children when compared with grown men! Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Greet one another with an holy kiss.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Greet one another with an holy kiss</strong>—The <em>philēmati hagiō</em> (φιλήματι ἁγίῳ, "holy kiss") was a customary Christian greeting (Rom 16:16, 1 Cor 16:20, 1 Thess 5:26, 1 Pet 5:14), signifying familial affection and reconciliation within the Christian community. The qualifier <strong>holy</strong> (<em>hagiō</em>, ἁγίῳ, "sacred/set apart") distinguishes Christian affection from ero...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Greet one another with an holy kiss.**—The tense of the Greek verb indicates that the Apostle is giving directions, not for a normal and, as it were, liturgical usage, but for a single act. In doing so, he repeats what he had said in 1Corinthians 16:20. The same injunction appears in Romans 16:16; 1Thessalonians 5:26. What he meant was that, as the public reading of the Epistle came to a cl...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. For--**Accounting for his being "beside himself" with enthusiasm: the love of Christ towards us (in His death for us, the highest proof of it, Ro 5:6-8), producing in turn love in us to Him, and not mere "terror" (2Co 5:11).
**constraineth us--**with irresistible power limits us to the one great object to the exclusion of other considerations. The Greek implies to compress forcibly the ene...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-13**
Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhood, the future that of manhood. Such is the difference between earth and heaven. What narrow views, what confused notions of things, have children when compared with grown men! Thus shall...
Read full commentary →All the saints salute you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>All the saints salute you</strong>—The <em>hagioi</em> (ἅγιοι, "saints/holy ones") were the believers with Paul in Macedonia sending greetings. This simple statement carries profound implications: the Corinthian church, despite their problems, remains connected to the universal church. Paul reminds them they're part of a global family, not an isolated congregation.<br><br>The term <strong>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **All the saints salute you.**—The salutation in the First Epistle came, it will be remembered, from the “brethren” of the Church of Asia. This comes from the “saints” of Philippi. The phrase, familiar as it is, is not without interest, as showing that St. Paul, wherever he might be, informed the Church of one locality when he was writing to another, and so made them feel that they were all m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. they which live--**in the present life (2Co 4:11, "we which live") [Alford]; or, they who are thus indebted to Him for life of soul as well as body [Menochius].
**died for them--**He does not add, "rose again for them," a phrase not found in Paul's language [Bengel]. He died in their stead, He arose again for their good, "for (the effecting of) their justification" (Ro 4:25), and that He m...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-13**
Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhood, the future that of manhood. Such is the difference between earth and heaven. What narrow views, what confused notions of things, have children when compared with grown men! Thus shall...
Read full commentary →The 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.</strong>—This Trinitarian benediction is Christianity's most complete liturgical blessing, explicitly naming all three persons of the Godhead. <strong>The grace</strong> (<em>hē charis</em>, ἡ χάρις) <strong>of the Lord Jesus Christ</strong> grounds all blessing in Christ's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ . . .**—It is not without a special significance that the Epistle which has been, almost to the very close, the most agitated and stormy of all that came from St. Paul’s pen, should end with a benediction which, as being fuller than any other found in the New Testament, was adopted from a very early period in the liturgies of many Eastern churches, such as...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. Wherefore--**because of our settled judgment (2Co 5:14),
**henceforth--**since our knowing Christ's constraining love in His death for us.
**know we no man after the flesh--**that is, according to his mere worldly and external relations (2Co 11:18; Joh 8:15; Php 3:4), as distinguished from what he is according to the Spirit, as a "new creature" (2Co 5:17). For instance, the outward disti...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The necessity and advantage of the grace of love.(1-3)
Its excellency represented by its properties and effects;
(4-7)
and by its abiding, and its superiority.
(8-13)
**Verses 1-3**
The excellent way had in view in the close of the former chapter, is not what is meant by charity in our common use of the word, almsgiving, but love in its full...
Read full commentary →