What Does 2 Corinthians 13:2 Mean in the King James?
I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The warning’s force does not depend on the speaker’s presence: the word spoken ahead of the return already carries the promise of no sparing.
THE MEANING
The warning speaks now with its full force: distance does not drain the words already spoken. It names those who have missed and says that, when the speaker comes again, sparing will not be extended.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that distance or delay makes a warning empty.
THE ROOT
φείσομαι
pheisomai
GROWS FROM
φειδ- (pheid-), from φείδομαι (pheidomai)
To spare, hold back, or show restraint.
“spare” in this verse is pheisomai. The line says restraint will not be extended when the speaker returns. The same root appears where sparing is withheld or given, making the choice about restraint unmistakable.
ALSO GROWS
epheisato: Held back from withholding; did not spare.
ἐφείσατο
Romans 8:32 uses this form for the Son who was not spared, carrying the same root into a moment of complete giving.
epheidomēn: Held back; refrained from imposing.
ἐφειδόμην
In 2 Corinthians 1:23, this form names sparing the readers, showing that restraint is a choice the same word family can express.
προλέγω
prolegō
GROWS FROM
λεγ- (leg-), in λέγω (legō)
To say or speak.
“foretell” in this verse is prolegō. The word means to say beforehand: the warning is already spoken before the return it names. The verse repeats that prior speech, so absence does not silence it.
ALSO GROWS
legō: To speak or say.
λέγω
This is the speaking root inside “foretell”: the warning is a prior saying, not merely an event imagined ahead.
logos: A word, saying, or account.
λόγος
The shared λεγ- (leg-) family links the prior speaking here with the concrete word that carries meaning.
προημαρτηκόσιν
proēmartēkosin
GROWS FROM
ἁμαρτ- (hamart-), in ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō)
To miss, miss the mark, or go wrong.
“have sinned” in this verse is proēmartēkosin. The verse names completed acts of missing, not a vague identity. Its perfect participle holds those acts in view as the warning speaks now.
ALSO GROWS
hamartia: A missing or failure.
ἁμαρτία
This is the noun family behind the KJV’s “sinned,” bringing the concrete image of missing into the verse.
hamartēma: A misdeed or act of missing.
ἁμάρτημα
This branch keeps the focus on the particular acts the verse names, rather than turning them into a fixed label for a person.
THE PATTERN
A delayed consequence can be mistaken for canceled judgment, though the spoken word still stands.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.THE THREAD
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?The verb here is φείδομαι (pheidomai), “spare”; Romans uses ἐφείσατο (epheisato), “spared,” from the same root. There, the Son is not held back; here, restraint will not be extended, giving the shared word a sharp edge across both verses.
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