2 COR 6:17 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) [ref]Therefore Yahweh says,
⇔ ‘Come out from among them and be separate.
⇔ Touch nothing that’s ceremonially prohibited
⇔ and then I will accept you.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 Therefore,
⇔  “Come out from the midst of them,
⇔  and be separate,” says the Lord,
⇔  “and touch no unclean thing,”
⇔  and “I will welcome you.”

UST So then, we should do what the Lord God says in the Scriptures:
⇔ “Get away from people who do not serve me.
⇔ Make sure that you are different than them.
⇔ Stay away from anything that defiles you.”
⇔ He says, “Then, I will gladly receive you.”

6:17 Isaiah 52:11; see also Ezekiel 20:34, including LXX.

BLB "Therefore come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean, and I will receive you."

AICNT “Therefore, come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord, and “do not touch anything unclean; and I will receive you.”[fn]

6:17, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 20:34, 41

OEB Therefore ‘Come out from among the nations, and separate yourselves from them,’ says the Lord,
⇔ ‘And touch nothing impure;
⇔ and I will welcome you;

WEBBE Therefore
⇔ “‘Come out from amongst them,
⇔ and be separate,’ says the Lord.
⇔ ‘Touch no unclean thing.
⇔ I will receive you.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Therefore “ come out from their midst, and be separate,” says the Lord, “ and touch no unclean thing, and I will welcome you,

LSV for this reason, come forth out of the midst of them, and be separated, says the LORD, and do not touch an unclean thing, and I will receive you,

FBV “So leave them, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don't touch anything that is unclean, and I will accept you.”[fn]

6:17 Referencing Isaiah 52:11 and Ezekiel 20:34, Ezekiel 20:41.

TCNT Therefore, come out from among them
⇔ and be separate, says the Lord.
⇔ Touch no unclean thing,
⇔ and I will receive you.

T4T In another place in the Scriptures we read that the Lord said:
⇔ Get away from those who do evil things;
⇔ keep yourselves separated from them.
⇔ Do nothing sinful that would make you unacceptable to me.
⇔ Then I will welcome you as members of my family.

LEB • Therefore “come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord,
• “and do not touch what is unclean,[fn]
• and I will welcome you,[fn]

6:16 A quotation from Isa 52:11|link-href="None"

6:16 A paraphrased quotation from Ezek 20:41|link-href="None"

BBE For which cause, Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and let no unclean thing come near you; and I will take you for myself,

Moff Therefore come away from them,
⇔ separate, saith the Lord,
⇔ touch not what is unclean;
⇔ then I will receive you,

Wymth Therefore, "`Come out from among them and separate yourselves,' says the Lord, `and touch nothing impure; and I will receive you, and will be a Father to you,

ASV Wherefore
⇔ Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate,
§ saith the Lord,
⇔ And touch no unclean thing;
⇔ And I will receive you,

DRA Wherefore, Go out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing:

YLT wherefore, come ye forth out of the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and an unclean thing do not touch, and I — I will receive you,

Drby Wherefore come out from the midst of them, and be separated, saith [the] Lord, and touch not [what is] unclean, and I will receive you;

RV Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you,
(Wherefore Come ye/you_all out from among them, and be ye/you_all separate, saith/says the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, )

SLT Therefore come out from the midst of them, and be separated, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you.

Wbstr Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you;

KJB-1769 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
(Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye/you_all separate, saith/says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, )

KJB-1611 Wherefore come out from among them, and bee yee separate, saieth the Lord, and touch not the vncleane thing, and I will receiue you,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Wherfore come out fro among them, and separate your selues from them (saith the Lorde) and touche none vncleane thyng, and I wyll receaue you,
(Wherefore come out from among them, and separate yourselves from them (saith/says the Lord) and touch none unclean thing, and I will receive you,)

Gnva Wherefore come out from among them, and separate your selues, saith the Lord, and touch none vncleane thing, and I wil receiue you.
(Wherefore come out from among them, and separate yourselves, saith/says the Lord, and touch none unclean thing, and I will receive you. )

Cvdl Wherfore come out from amoge them, and separate youre selues (sayeth the LORDE) and touche no vncleane thinge, so wyl I receaue you,
(Wherefore come out from among them, and separate yourselves (saith/says the LORD) and touch no unclean thing, so will I receive you,)

TNT Wherfore come out from amonge the and separate youreselues (sayth the lorde) and touche none vncleane thynge: so wyll I receave you
(Wherefore come out from among the and separate yourselves (sayth the lorde) and touch none unclean thing: so will I receive you )

Wycl For which thing go ye out of the myddil of hem, and be ye departid, seith the Lord, and touche ye not vnclene thing;
(For which thing go ye/you_all out of the middle of hem, and be ye/you_all departed, saith/says the Lord, and touch ye/you_all not unclean thing;)

Luth Darum gehet aus von ihnen und sondert euch ab, spricht der HErr, und rühret kein Unreines an, so will ich euch annehmen.
(Therefore goes out_of from to_them and sondert you away, speaks/says the/of_the LORD, and stirs/moves/touches no/not impure_(one) an, so will I you assume.)

ClVg Propter quod exite de medio eorum, et separamini, dicit Dominus, et immundum ne tetigeritis:
(Because that exite from/about in_the_middle their, and separamini, he_says Master, and unclean/impure not touchedis: )

UGNT διὸ ἐξέλθατε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ ἀφορίσθητε, λέγει Κύριος, καὶ ἀκαθάρτου μὴ ἅπτεσθε; κἀγὼ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς.
(dio exelthate ek mesou autōn kai aforisthaʸte, legei Kurios, kai akathartou maʸ haptesthe; kagō eisdexomai humas.)

SBL-GNT διὸ ἐξέλθατε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀφορίσθητε, λέγει κύριος, καὶ ἀκαθάρτου μὴ ἅπτεσθε· κἀγὼ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς·
(dio exelthate ek mesou autōn, kai aforisthaʸte, legei kurios, kai akathartou maʸ haptesthe; kagō eisdexomai humas;)

RP-GNT Διό, Ἐξέλθετε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ ἀφορίσθητε, λέγει κύριος, καὶ ἀκαθάρτου μὴ ἅπτεσθε· κἀγὼ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς,
(Dio, Exelthete ek mesou autōn kai aforisthaʸte, legei kurios, kai akathartou maʸ haptesthe; kagō eisdexomai humas,)

TC-GNT Διό, [fn]Ἐξέλθετε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν
⇔ καὶ ἀφορίσθητε, λέγει Κύριος,
⇔ καὶ ἀκαθάρτου μὴ ἅπτεσθε·
⇔ κἀγὼ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς,
(Dio, Exelthete ek mesou autōn
⇔ kai aforisthaʸte, legei Kurios,
⇔ kai akathartou maʸ haptesthe;
⇔ kagō eisdexomai humas, )

6:17 εξελθετε ¦ εξελθατε ANT CT

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:11–7:4: Paul urged them to love him and live holy lives

In this section, Paul told the believers in Corinth that he loved them completely (6:11), but the believers did not love him completely (6:12). He urged them to love him completely (6:13).

Then he urged them to avoid partnerships with unbelievers (6:14a) and used five rhetorical questions (6:14b–16a) to support this exhortation. He also supported this exhortation with quotes from the Old Testament (6:16b–18). On the basis of these quotes, he then urged them to live pure lives (7:1).

He again urged them to love him (7:2a) and explained that he had not wronged anyone (7:2b). He explained that his love was complete (7:3) and he was very confident in them and very happy for them (7:4).

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Open your hearts to us, and live holy lives

Love us as we love you and live pure lives

6:17a–b

Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you: This quote uses parts of Isaiah 52:11 and Ezekiel 20:34, 41. If you footnote the locations of quotes from the Old Testament, you may want to do so here.

6:17a

“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.

Therefore the Lord said long ago, “Leave^(plur) them and be separate.
So the Lord God says to us through/in the Scriptures, “Leave them and be separate from them.

Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord: God says this to his people, not to everyone. Moreover, these words are also from the Old Testament. If people think that the saying here refers to all people, you may want to explain in your translation. For example:

Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord to his people in Scripture.

Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord to us in his holy word.

come out from among them and be separate: In the Old Testament context, these commands were to separate physically from nations that practiced idolatry. Here Paul uses these clauses to command the believers in Corinth to follow ways that honor God. Believers are to avoid practices that lead to following idols. The two commands emphasize the meaning. Other ways to translate this are:

come out from them, and be separate from them (RSV)

Leave those people, and be separate (NCV)

These words are used as a metaphor. It refers to following God only and not following the ways of people of the world. (John 17:15–18 shows that this verse must be understood as a metaphor.) In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to physically leaving. If that is true in your language, explain in a footnote. An example footnote is:

This verse refers to following God only and not following the ways of people of the world. This verse does not refer to physical separation.

says the Lord: Paul has actually added this clause to indicate that God is the speaker. It is not found in the material that he is quoting. The BSB follows the Greek order by placing the clause says the Lord in the middle of what God said. But to show that it is not part of the original quote, you may want to put it at the beginning. For example:

And so the Lord says, “You must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you.” (GNT)

Place this clause where it is most natural in your language.

Also, following the Greek word order literally, the BSB places the verb says before the phrase the Lord. This is acceptable but alternate English style. Other versions follow more common English word order. For example:

The Lord says (GW)

the Lord: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Lord means “the one in authority over (something)” or “master.” The word Lord refers to God here. In some languages it is more natural to include “God” in this phrase. For example:

the Lord God

6:17b

Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

Touch no religiously unclean thing, and I will welcome you.”
Avoid all things that I have prohibited, and I will bring you in.”

Touch no unclean thing: In the Old Testament context of this quote, unclean thing probably referred mainly to idols and the practices of worshiping them.In other places in the Old Testament, the phrase “unclean thing” usually referred to anything improper to use or touch in regard to religious purity. Such things included touching taboo food or animals or being involved with evil spirits or immoral practices. The Jews were to worship God only. In the context of this letter, Paul used this saying to command believers to avoid wickedness, anything associated with Satan, idol worship, and anything that might cause a believer to follow such practices. In some languages a literal translation would have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain in a footnote. For example:

This saying refers to avoiding idols and idol worship as well as other types of wickedness.

Touch no: Here the phrase Touch no refers figuratively to avoiding something. God wants his people to avoid such things as idols and idol worship. For example:

Have nothing to do with (GNT)

unclean thing: In the Old Testament, if someone touched something unclean, God prohibited that person from going to the temple and worshiping him for a period of time. God indicated that a dead body was unclean, and people with certain skin diseases or sores were unclean. God indicated that other things were also unclean. The word unclean does not refer to having dirt on you and needing to wash.

In some languages the word unclean only means “having dirt on the skin.” If that is true in your language, you may want to:

Translate in a way that indicates the correct meaning of the word here. For example:
thing that causes a person to become religiously corrupt/unacceptable
thing that I have prohibited
Translate literally and explain the meaning in a footnote. Some example footnotes are:
This word refers to being religiously “unclean” or unacceptable in God’s sight.
In the Old Testament, if someone touched something unclean, God prohibited that person from going to the temple and worshiping God for a period of time. Similarly, idols and idol worship are unclean, because God has prohibited believers from following them. The word unclean does not refer to having dirt on you and needing to wash.

I will receive you: The Greek word here translated receive means “show hospitality” or “welcome.” God will accept into his presence the people who avoided idol worship. Other ways to translate this clause are:

I will welcome you (RSV)

I will bring you into my presence

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-quotations

διὸ ἐξέλθατε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ ἀφορίσθητε, λέγει Κύριος, καὶ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό ἐξέλθατε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καί ἀφορίσθητε λέγει Κύριος Καί ἀκαθάρτου μή ἅπτεσθε Κἀγώ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς)

Paul uses the words Therefore and says the Lord to introduce a quotation that provides a result or inference from what Paul said in the previous verse. Most of the quotation is from [Isaiah 52:11](../isa/52/11.md), but the phrase and I will welcome you is from a Greek translation of [Ezekiel 20:34](../ezk/20/34.md). The ULT indicates that the quote is from two different passages by using new quotation marks with the last line. However, it is recommended that you treat the whole verse as one quote in your translation. If it would be helpful in your language, you could introduce the quote in a natural way which shows that it comes from the Old Testament. It may be more natural to move says the Lord to the beginning of the verse, as the UST does. Alternate translation: [Because of that, the Lord says through the prophets, “Come out from the midst of them, and be separate, and]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

ἐξέλθατε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ ἀφορίσθητε

come_out from ˓the˒_midst ˱of˲_them (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό ἐξέλθατε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καί ἀφορίσθητε λέγει Κύριος Καί ἀκαθάρτου μή ἅπτεσθε Κἀγώ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς)

Here, these two clauses mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and it would be good to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation rather than combining them. However, if the repetition might be confusing, you could connect the phrases with a word other than and in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: [Come out from the midst of them; yes, be separate]

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτῶν

˱of˲_them

Here, the word them refers to people who do not follow God and who do not trust the Messiah. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make explicit to whom the pronoun refers. Alternate translation: [of the unbelievers] or [of the people who do not follow God]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἀκαθάρτου μὴ ἅπτεσθε

˱against˲_˓the˒_unclean (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό ἐξέλθατε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καί ἀφορίσθητε λέγει Κύριος Καί ἀκαθάρτου μή ἅπτεσθε Κἀγώ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς)

Here the author of the quotation uses the word touch to refer to interacting with someone in any way, not just by touching it. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [come into contact with no unclean things] or [avoid every unclean thing]

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

κἀγὼ

Here, the word and introduces what happens when people do what God commanded in the first part of the verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that more clearly introduces a result. Alternate translation: [and then I] or [and when you do those things, I]

Parallel 2 COR 6:17

Section 6:11–7:4: Paul urged them to love him and live holy lives

6:17a–b

6:17a

6:17b

Parallel 2 COR 6:17