| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” | 1This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” ). |
| 2I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare— | 2I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them. |
| 3since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. | 3I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. |
| 4For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives 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. | 4Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power. |
| 5Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. | 5Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you ; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. |
| 6But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified. | 6As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority. |
| 7Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. | 7We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. |
| 8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. | 8For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. |
| 9For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete. | 9We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature. |
| 10Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction. | 10I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down. Paul’s Final Greetings |
| 11Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. | 11Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. | 12Greet each other with a sacred kiss. |
| 13All the saints greet you. | 13All of God’s people here send you their greetings. |
| 14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. | 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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