2 Korintus 13:5-14

13:5 Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you – unless, indeed, you fail the test! ¹  13:6 And I hope that you will realize that we have not failed the test! ²  13:7 Now we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong, not so that we may appear to have passed the test, ³  but so that you may do what is right ⁴  even if we may appear to have failed the test. ⁵  13:8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the sake of the truth. 13:9 For we rejoice whenever we are weak, but you are strong. And we pray for this: that you may become fully qualified. ⁶  13:10 Because of this I am writing these things while absent, so that when I arrive ⁷  I may not have to deal harshly with you ⁸  by using my authority – the Lord gave it to me for building up, not for tearing down!

Final Exhortations and Greetings

13:11 Finally, brothers and sisters, ⁹  rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 13:12 ¹⁰  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13:13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship ¹¹  of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

13:14 [[EMPTY]] ¹² 

[13:5]  ¹ tn Or “unless indeed you are disqualified.”

[13:6]  ² tn Or “that we are not disqualified.”

[13:7]  ³ tn Or “that we may appear to be approved.”

[13:7]  ⁴ tn Or “what is good.”

[13:7]  ⁵ tn Or “even if we appear disapproved.”

[13:9]  ⁶ tn Or “fully equipped.”

[13:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “when I am present,” but in the context of Paul’s third (upcoming) visit to Corinth, this is better translated as “when I arrive.”

[13:10]  ⁸ tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[13:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:8.

[13:12]  ¹⁰ sn The versification of vv. 12 and 13 in the NET Bible (so also NRSV, NLT) is according to the versification in the NA²⁷ and UBS⁴ editions of the Greek text. Some translations, however, break the material up into three verses, i.e., 12-14 (NKJV, NASB, NIV). The same material has been translated in each case; the only difference is the versification of that material.

[13:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “communion.”

[13:14]  ¹² tc Most witnesses, especially later ones (א² D Ψ Ï lat sy bo), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”), while several early and important mss (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B F G 0243 6 33 630 1175 1739 1881 pc sa) lack the particle. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. That so many diverse witnesses lacked the word here is strong testimony to its absence for the original text of 2 Corinthians.