World English Bible · Under Rome
2 Corinthians 13
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This is the third time I am coming to you. "At the of two or three shall every word be established." I have warned previously, and I warn again, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have before now and to all the rest that if I come again, I will not spare, seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me who is not weak, but is powerful in you. For he was through weakness, yet he lives through the of . For we also are weak in him, but we will live with him through the of toward you. Examine your own selves, whether you are in the . your own selves. Or don't you know about your own selves, that is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. But I that you will know that we aren't disqualified. Now I to that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we may seem to have failed. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also for this: your becoming perfect. For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the which gave me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally, brothers, rejoice! Be perfected. Be comforted. Be of the same . Live in peace, and the of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a kiss. All greet you. The of , love, and the fellowship of be with you all. .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. 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.