King James Version · Under Rome
2 Corinthians 13
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This is the third time I am coming to you. In the of two or three shall every word be established. 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 , and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was through weakness, yet he liveth by the of . For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the of toward you. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the ; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Now I to 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. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the which hath given me to edification, and not to . Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one , live in peace; and the of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an kiss. All salute you. The of , and the love of , and the communion of the Ghost, be with you all. . The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from , a city of , by and Lucas.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- How does the Trinity work? · 2 Corinthians 13:14
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.