2 Corinthians 13:11
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Study Note
Study Note
Paul's closing benediction to the fractured Corinthian church calls for 'perfection' (katartizesthe — more accurately 'mending' or 'restoration'), comfort, unity of mind, and peace — a cluster of virtues that address the specific wounds of the congregation's quarrels and factions. The promise 'the God of love and peace shall be with you' makes divine presence the eschatological reward for communal reconciliation, not merely an abstract benediction. The closing trinitarian formula in verse 14 — grace, love, and fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit — is one of the earliest explicit triadic blessings in the New Testament and became the source of the Christian liturgical 'Grace.'
Other Translations
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfected; be comforted; be of the same mind; live in peace: and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Henceforth, brethren, rejoice; be made perfect, be comforted, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of the love and peace shall be with you;
Let this be my last word, brothers; be glad; be complete; be comforted; be of the same mind; be at peace with one another: and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Cross References
And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could …
So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out …
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, …
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, …
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be …
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at …
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may …
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which …
But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will …