But I expect that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.
Parallel translations
- WEB But I hope that you will know that we aren’t disqualified.
- KJV But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
- BSB And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test.
- NKJV But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
- NLT As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul expresses hope that they will recognize that he and his coworkers are not disqualified. It matters because if Christ is truly in the Corinthians, the genuineness of their founder's ministry follows.
Overview
Paul gently turns the examination's outcome back toward himself: their own faith is fruit of his authentic apostleship. If they pass the test, they vindicate him. His confidence rests not in self-assertion but in the reality of Christ's work through him among them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 2 Cor 12:20For I am afraid that by any means, when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you don’t desire; that by any means there would be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, whisperings, proud thoughts, riots;
- 2 Cor 13:10For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for tearing down.
- 2 Cor 13:3–4seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me; who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 13:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.