2 Corinthians

Chapter 13

1 I am coming to you for the third time. Every word must be proven true by two or three witnesses.

2 I warned you before, and now I’m warning you again as if I were there with you, even though I’m not with you now. I’m writing both to those who have sinned before and to everyone else. When I come back, I won’t hold back.

3 Since you look for a sign that Christ speaks through me, he is not weak towards you but strong within you.

4 Even though he was killed because he was weak, he now lives by God’s power. We too are weak as he was, but with him, we will live by God’s power for you.

5 Check if you really have faith; test yourselves. Don’t you realize that Jesus Christ is in you unless you fail the test?

6 But I hope you will understand that we are not failures.

7 I pray to God that you will not do wrong; not to show we are good, but so you do what is right, even if we seem to fail.

8 We can’t act against the truth, only for it.

9 We are happy when we are weak and you are strong; we truly want you to be perfect.

10 So I write these things while I’m not with you, so that when I am with you, I won’t have to be too strict, using the authority that God gave me to build up, not tear down.

11 Friends, goodbye. Aim to be flawless, be encouraged, agree with each other, live peacefully; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

12 Say hello to each other with a sacred kiss.

13 All the holy people send you greetings.

14 May the kindness of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the sharing of the Holy Spirit, be with everyone. Amen.