And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
Parallel translations
- WEB What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?
- BSB What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
- NKJV And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
- NASB Or what harmony does Christ have with Belial, or what does a believer share with an unbeliever?
- NLT What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?
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
There is no harmony between Christ and Belial, no shared portion between believer and unbeliever. Allegiance to Christ excludes partnership with evil.
Overview
Paul reinforces the call to separation with further contrasts, using 'Belial' as a name for Satan or wickedness. Christ and the evil one have no agreement, and so the believer and unbeliever share no common spiritual portion. The point is the deep incompatibility of competing spiritual allegiances.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 10:20–21But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
- 1 Jn 5:11–13And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
- 1 Kgs 18:21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
- 1 Sam 5:2–4When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
- Acts 5:14And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
- Acts 8:20But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
- Mark 16:16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
- Ezra 4:3But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
- 1 Tim 5:8But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:15 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
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