2 COR 13:3 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) because you’re all wanting proof that I speak from Messiah who isn’t incapable of handling you all but is quite able to do what he wants.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT since you are seeking proof of the Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you but is powerful among you.

UST I tell you this because you have demanded that I prove to you that the Messiah is speaking to you when I speak to you. You will know this when he disciplines you. He will not be weak with you; instead, he will work powerfully among you.

BSB since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. [He] is not weak in dealing with you but is powerful among you.

MSB since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. [He] is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.

BLB since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you but is powerful among you.

AICNT since you seek a proof of the Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you but is powerful in you.

OEB And that will be the proof, which you are looking for, that the Christ speaks through me. There is no weakness in his dealings with you. No, he shows his power among you.

WEBBE seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me who is not weak, but is powerful in you.

WMBB seeing that you seek a proof of Messiah who speaks in me who is not weak, but is powerful in you.

MSG ^(1-4)Well, this is my third visit coming up. Remember the Scripture that says, “A matter becomes clear after two or three witnesses give evidence”? On my second visit I warned that bunch that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways that when I came back I wouldn’t go easy on them. Now, preparing for the third, I’m saying it again from a distance. If you haven’t changed your ways by the time I get there, look out. You who have been demanding proof that Christ speaks through me will get more than you bargained for. You’ll get the full force of Christ, don’t think you won’t. He was sheer weakness and humiliation when he was killed on the cross, but oh, he’s alive now—in the mighty power of God! We weren’t much to look at, either, when we were humiliated among you, but when we deal with you this next time, we’ll be alive in Christ, strengthened by God.

NET since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak toward you but is powerful among you.

LSV since you seek a proof of the Christ speaking in me, who is not weak to you, but is powerful in you,

FBV since you're demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in the way he relates to you; rather he works powerfully among you.

TCNT since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.

T4T Because you have demanded that I prove to you that Christ is speaking to you when I speak to you, I will show you that I speak to you as his apostle. Christ does not approve of your sinful behavior. On the contrary, he will powerfully discipline you.

LEB since you are demanding proof that Christ, who is not weak toward you, but is powerful among you, is speaking in me.

BBE Seeing that you are looking for a sign of Christ giving out his word in me; who is not feeble in relation to you, but is strong in you:

Moff That will prove to you that I am indeed a spokesman of Christ. It is no weak Christ you have to do with, but a Christ of power.

Wymth since you want a practical proof of the fact that Christ speaks by my lips—He who is not feeble towards you, but powerful among you.

ASV seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me; who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you:

DRA Do you seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me, who towards you is not weak, but is mighty in you?

YLT since a proof ye seek of the Christ speaking in me, who to you is not infirm, but is powerful in you,

Drby Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, (who is not weak towards you, but is powerful among you,

RV seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me; who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you:
(seeing that ye/you_all seek a proof of Christ that speaketh/speaks in me; who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you: )

SLT Since seek proof of Christ speaking in me, who to you is no weak, but has power in you.

Wbstr Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who toward you is not weak, but is mighty in you.

KJB-1769 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
(Since ye/you_all seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. )

KJB-1611 Since ye seeke a proofe of Christ, speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weake, but is mightie in you.
(Since ye/you_all seek a proofe of Christ, speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.)

Bshps Seyng yt ye seeke experience of Christe which speaketh in me, which to you ward is not weake, but is mighty in you.
(Seeing it ye/you_all seek experience of Christ which speaketh/speaks in me, which to you ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.)

Gnva Seeing that ye seeke experience of Christ, that speaketh in mee, which towarde you is not weake, but is mightie in you.
(Seeing that ye/you_all seek experience of Christ, that speaketh/speaks in me, which toward you is not weak, but is mighty in you. )

Cvdl seynge that ye seke experiece of him, which speaketh in me, euen Christ, which amonge you is not weake, but is mightie amoge you.
(seeing that ye/you_all seek experience of him, which speaketh/speaks in me, even Christ, which among you is not weak, but is mighty among you.)

TNT seynge that ye seke experience of Christ which speaketh in me which amonge you is not weake but is myghty in you.
(seeing that ye/you_all seek experience of Christ which speaketh/speaks in me which among you is not weak but is mighty in you. )

Wycl Whether ye seken the preef of that Crist, that spekith in me, which is not feble in you?
(Whether ye/you_all seek the preef of that Christ, that speaketh/speaks in me, which is not feeble in you?)

Luth Sintemal ihr suchet, daß ihr einmal gewahr werdet des, der in mir redet, nämlich Christi, welcher unter euch nicht schwach ist, sondern ist mächtig unter euch.
(Sintemal you(pl)/their/her seeks, that you(pl)/their/her once aware become of, the/of_the in to_me talks, namely Christi, which under you not weak is, rather is powerful under you.)

ClVg An experimentum quæritis ejus, qui in me loquitur Christus, qui in vobis non infirmatur, sed potens est in vobis?[fn]
(An experimentum you_are_looking_for his, who/which in/into/on me speaks Christ/Messiah, who/which in/into/on to_you(pl) not/no weaktur, but powerful it_is in/into/on to_you(pl)? )

13.3 An experimentum. Moris est divinæ Scripturæ personæ Dei tribuere quod in nobis facit, sicut Apostolus locutionem ipsam illi tribuit cujus munere loquebatur, id est Christo. Qui in vobis non infirmatur, sed potens apparuit cum dona dedit. Quod experti, non dubitent se ab eo posse puniri.

13.3 An experimentum. Moris it_is divine Scriptures personæ of_God tribuere that in/into/on us he_does, like Apostolus spokeonem itself them gives whose gift spoke, that it_is to_Christ/Messiah. Who in/into/on to_you(pl) not/no weaktur, but powerful appeared when/with gifts he_gave. That experti, not/no dubitent himself away by_him posse puniri.

UGNT ἐπεὶ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ, ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ, ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν.
(epei dokimaʸn zaʸteite tou en emoi lalountos Ⱪristou, hos eis humas ouk asthenei, alla dunatei en humin.)

SBL-GNT ἐπεὶ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ· ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν,
(epei dokimaʸn zaʸteite tou en emoi lalountos Ⱪristou; hos eis humas ouk asthenei alla dunatei en humin,)

RP-GNT ἐπεὶ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος χριστοῦ, ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ, ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν·
(epei dokimaʸn zaʸteite tou en emoi lalountos ⱪristou, hos eis humas ouk asthenei, alla dunatei en humin;)

TC-GNT ἐπεὶ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ, ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ, ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν·
(epei dokimaʸn zaʸteite tou en emoi lalountos Ⱪristou, hos eis humas ouk asthenei, alla dunatei en humin; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 13:1–10: Some warnings

In this section, Paul warned the believers that he would punish anyone who was sinning and refusing to repent (13:1–2). He said he would do that because some believers in Corinth were demanding proof from him that he was a true apostle (13:3a). He told them that he could work powerfully because Jesus is powerful (13:3b). He told them that they were weak in their natural abilities but had God’s power, as Jesus did when he lived on earth (13:4).

Then Paul commanded them to look carefully at themselves to see if they were truly believers or not (13:5). Paul expected that if they studied Paul’s words and deeds, then they would see that he was a true apostle (13:6). Paul told them that he and his coworkers prayed for the believers in Corinth that they would not sin and that they would do what was right (13:7). Paul told them that he and his coworkers worked in accordance with the truth (13:8). He told the believers that he prayed that they would always do as God wanted them to do (13:9). He told them that he wrote about their problems so that they would correct those problems themselves. Then he would encourage them when he went there and would not have to discipline them (13:10).

Other examples for this section heading are:

Examine Yourselves (NASB)

Paul gave final warnings

Final warnings and greetings

13:3a

since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.

For you^(plur) seek proof that Christ speaks through me.
I say that since you want me to prove to you that Christ speaks through me as his apostle/representative.

since: This word introduces a reason why Paul would spare no one who had continued to sin. Other ways to translate this are:

because

The reason is

you are demanding proof: The Greek word that the BSB translates as are demanding is literally “seek.” Some of the believers were not satisfied that Paul was truly an apostle, so they sought proof from him about that. Other ways to translate this clause are:

you seek proof (ESV)

you desire proof (RSV)

you are asking for a proof (NJB)

proof: This word refers to evidence of the truthfulness of something that comes from testing it. The believers wanted to test Paul to see if he was truly an apostle. The evidence that they expected was probably a miracle or sign. Other ways to translate this word are:

evidence

This should prove to you (CEV)

Christ is speaking through me: This clause refers to Paul speaking the things that Jesus would want him to say. The false teachers were probably saying that Paul preached and taught from his own thoughts rather than preaching and teaching what Jesus wanted him to. Other ways to translate this clause are:

I am speaking for Christ (CEV)

Christ tells me what to say to you

I am Christ’s messenger

13:3b

He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.

When he deals with you, he is not weak. Instead, he is powerful among you.
He is not weak in his relationship with you—instead he works powerfully among you.

He is not weak in dealing with you: The Greek words are literally “who is not weak toward you” (as in the NASB). This clause indicates that Christ is powerful in his relationship with the believers. Christ is not so weak that he can do nothing regarding them. He is able to correct them if he chooses to. He also empowers them to do the right things. Other ways to translate this are:

When he deals with you, he is not weak (GNT)

he is not weak in his relationship with you

Christ is not too weak to punish you or to help you

is powerful among you: This phrase refers to Christ doing powerful deeds in connection with the believers. Other ways to translate this are:

his power is at work among you (NJB)

he shows his power among you (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐπεί δοκιμήν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοί λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ ὅς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ ἀλλά δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of proof, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [you want me to prove that Christ speaks through me]

ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος

in among (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐπεί δοκιμήν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοί λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ ὅς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ ἀλλά δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν)

Alternate translation: [speaking through me]

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

ὃς

The pronoun who refers to Christ. If this is not clear for your readers, you could include “Christ” here. Alternate translation: [Christ, who]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν

The implication is that Christ will be powerful among the Corinthian believers when Paul comes and disciplines them using Christ’s power. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [but will punish you powerfully when I come]

Parallel 2 COR 13:3

Section 13:1–10: Some warnings

13:3a

13:3b

Parallel 2 COR 13:3