independentrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
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The third visit — a warning under the rule of witnesses 13:1–4
vv. 1–2 — the announcement and the forewarning
1
This is the third time I am coming to you.independent — the futuristic present — the visit as good as underway
"By the mouth of two and of three witnesses every matter shall be established."content — Deut 19:15, quoted with no verb of saying — hung on ἔρχομαι as the coming visit's juridical frame
2
I have said before and I say beforehandindependent — the doubled προ- verbs — fair notice, perfect and present
— as when present the second time, and now absent —comparative — ὡς framing the two temporal participles: the painful second visit and the present writing
to those who sinned before and to all the rest:phrase modifier — the addressees — the old offenders, and the warning widened to everyone
that if I come again,conditional — protasis (with the ὅτι of the warning's content prefixed) — leans on the apodosis below
I will not spare,content — apodosis — the content of the warning, two blunt words
vv. 3–4 — the demanded proof: power in weakness
3
since you seek proof of the Christ who speaks in me —cause — the ground of the severity: their own demand for a δοκιμή
who is not weak toward you but is powerful among you.relative — the Christ they will meet — the chapter's weakness/power antithesis opens
4
For indeed he was crucified out of weakness,cause — the christological ground — the cross as voluntary frailty
yet he lives by the power of God.cause — the counter-limb — risen life from God's δύναμις
For we also are weak in him,cause — the echo — the apostle conformed to the crucified pattern
yet we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.cause — εἰς ὑμᾶς — resurrection power that will be felt in the coming discipline
Test yourselves — the trial reversed 13:5–10
vv. 5–6 — the test turned back on the testers
5
Examine yourselves,independent — ἑαυτούς fronted — the demanded trial reversed onto them
whether you are in the faith;content — indirect question — the test's one object
test yourselves.independent — the assayer's verb — δοκιμάζω, cognate with δοκιμή (v. 3) and ἀδόκιμος below
Or do you not recognize about yourselvesindependent — οὐκ expects 'yes' — surely they do recognize
that Jesus Christ is in you?content — verbless — the indwelling Christ is itself the δοκιμή they sought
— unless indeed you fail the test.conditional — εἰ μήτι — the backward-leaning exception (so it takes an anchor): the one alternative
6
But I hopeindependent — the pivot from their standing to his
that you will knowcontent — the content of the hope
that we are not failing the test.content — the same verdict-word, now denied of Paul — his vindication bound to their authenticity
vv. 7–9 — the prayer: their good, not his vindication
7
But we pray to Godindependent — genuine intercession — πρὸς τὸν θεόν
that you do no evil at all —content — accusative + infinitive: the prayer's content, doubly negated (μὴ … μηδέν)
not that we may appear approved,purpose — the rejected motive — no display of credentials
but that you may do what is good,purpose — the true aim — their conduct, not his reputation
even though we should be as ones failing the test.purpose — the ἵνα clause continued, concessive in force — seeming ἀδόκιμοι for lack of occasion to act
8
For we have no power at all against the truth,cause — the governing maxim — apostolic power is constitutionally on the truth's side
but only for the truth.phrase modifier — elliptical — δυνάμεθα supplied: the only direction the power may serve
9
For we rejoicecause — the second ground — the paradoxical apostolic joy
whenever we are weakconditional — ὅταν + subjunctive — indefinite temporal, conditional in force; backward, so anchored
and you are strong;conditional — the clause's second limb — their strength is his gladly-borne 'weakness'
this also we pray for —independent — the prayer resumed and named — τοῦτο points forward
your restoration.phrase modifier — apposition to τοῦτο — κατάρτισις, the mending and full equipping of the church
v. 10 — why he writes while absent
10
For this reason I write these things while absent,independent — epistolary present — the letter sent ahead in place of the rod
so that when present I may not deal severely,purpose — παρών against ἀπών — the letter aims to change what presence must do
according to the authorityphrase modifier — the norm of any severity — real, Lord-given ἐξουσία
which the Lord gave merelative — delegated, not self-assumed
for building up and not for tearing down.purpose — the authority's charter (cf. 10:8) — οἰκοδομή, not καθαίρεσις
Farewell — the imperative volley and the triadic benediction 13:11–13
v. 11 — the imperative volley and the promise
11
Finally, brothers, rejoice.independent — λοιπόν — the wind-down; χαίρετε is both 'rejoice' and the conventional farewell
Be restored,independent — echoes the prayed-for κατάρτισις (v. 9)
be exhorted,independent — or 'be comforted' — the letter's keyword παράκλησις
be of the same mind,independent — the Pauline unity idiom (cf. Phil 2:2)
be at peace;independent — the volley's last stroke — peace within the reconciled body
and the God of love and peace will be with you.independent — the promise capping the imperatives — his titles answer the commands
vv. 12–13 — greetings and the benediction
12
Greet one another with a holy kiss.independent — the sign of reconciled fellowship (cf. Rom 16:16)
All the saints greet you.independent — the wider church's greeting (the older versification counts this as v. 13)
13
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.independent — the triadic benediction — verbless (εἴη understood); grace–love–κοινωνία, the fullest Pauline blessing, over πάντων ὑμῶν
Analysis. 2 Corinthians 13 falls into three shapes the colors make plain. Verses 1–4 are the warning: a flush-left announcement (Τρίτον τοῦτο ἔρχομαι) with the Deut 19:15 witness-rule hanging directly beneath it in blue — quoted with no verb of saying, the citation itself supplying the juridical frame for the visit; then the doubled προείρηκα καὶ προλέγω sentence, whose ὅτι-warning arrives as a forward-leaning protasis (ὅτι ἐὰν ἔλθω εἰς τὸ πάλιν) over its blunt apodosis οὐ φείσομαι, and beneath the apodosis a chain that steps down four levels — the ἐπεί ground (they themselves demanded proof of the Christ speaking in Paul), the relative (who is not weak toward them but powerful among them), and the paired καὶ γάρ grounds that set Christ's pattern (crucified in weakness, alive by God's power) beside Paul's (weak in him, yet to live with him by God's power toward them). Verses 5–10 reverse the trial: flush-left imperatives (Ἑαυτοὺς πειράζετε, ἑαυτοὺς δοκιμάζετε) with the indirect question and the ὅτι of the indwelling Christ hanging beneath, and the εἰ μήτι exception anchored backward on the question; then the prayer sentence with its rejected and real ἵνα purposes side by side (οὐχ ἵνα … ἀλλ' ἵνα …), ἡμεῖς δὲ ὡς ἀδόκιμοι ὦμεν read as a concessive continuation inside the second ἵνα; the twin γάρ grounds (no power against the truth; joy in being weak when they are strong, with the prayed-for κατάρτισις in verbless apposition); and v. 10's descent from γράφω through the ἵνα of avoided severity to the Lord-given ἐξουσία chartered εἰς οἰκοδομήν and not εἰς καθαίρεσιν. Verses 11–13 are all surface: five flush-left imperatives, the promise of the God of love and peace, the greetings, and the verbless triadic benediction stretched full width at depth 0. Cruxes named honestly: the Deut 19:15 line is hung on ἔρχομαι as the visit's legal frame rather than treated as a free-standing maxim; ὅταν (v. 9) is typed as a conditional (an indefinite temporal, conditional in force, anchored backward); and in v. 13 the layout cannot decide whether κοινωνία τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος is a subjective genitive (the fellowship the Spirit creates, parallel to the grace the Lord gives and the love God shows) or an objective one (shared participation in the Spirit himself) — the parallelism of the triad favors the subjective, but the objective is fully defensible, and the line reads the same either way.