What Does 2 Corinthians 13:3 Mean in the King James?
Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
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 proof they seek is the power of the anointed one already at work among them.
THE MEANING
When you ask whether the anointed one speaks through a voice, this verse places the evidence in the power active among those the voice reaches. The speaker may appear weak, yet the power present in you is not weak.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that a weak-seeming messenger means the anointed one’s voice is powerless. The verse locates that power among those the voice reaches.
THE ROOT
δυνατεῖ
dynatei
GROWS FROM
δυνα-/δυναμ- (dyna-/dynam- stem)
Be able; possess power to act.
The Greek word belongs to the same word family as δύναμις, power, and δύναμαι, to be able. “Mighty” here names an active capacity at work in the people addressed, not merely a quality attributed from a distance.
ALSO GROWS
dynamis: Power, capacity
δύναμις
It names the power that the verse says is present among those addressed.
dynamai: To be able, to have power
δύναμαι
It shows the capacity implied by “mighty” as something able to act.
δοκιμήν
dokimēn
GROWS FROM
δοκιμ-
dokim-
Testing that establishes what is genuine or approved.
The word for “proof” carries the sense of something tested and found genuine. The verse connects the sought proof with power already active among the people, giving the claim a lived measure.
ALSO GROWS
dokimazō: Test, examine, approve
δοκιμάζω
It shows that proof involves testing what is genuine.
dokimos: Approved, proven
δόκιμος
It describes what has stood the test, clarifying the kind of proof being sought.
ἀσθενεῖ
asthenei
GROWS FROM
ἀσθεν-
asthen-
Lacking strength; weak.
“weak” in this verse is asthenei. This word belongs to the same family as “weakness” in the next verse, where weakness stands beside the power of God. The passage holds both together instead of treating weakness as proof that power is absent.
ALSO GROWS
astheneia: Weakness, infirmity
ἀσθένεια
It names the condition paired with power in the following verse.
asthenēs: Weak, without strength
ἀσθενής
It shows the same root describing a person or thing as weak.
THE PATTERN
God’s power is recognized by what it accomplishes within people, even where human strength is absent.
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,THE THREAD
For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.The next verse repeats the same Greek word families for weakness and power. It opens the contrast further: the crucified one lives by God’s power, so weakness does not mean that power is absent.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us