Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 7:3
I do not say this to condemn you. I have said before that you so occupy our hearts that we live and die together with you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church during a period of post-correction reconciliation, clarifying his previous rebuke to prevent misunderstanding. He writes to establish that his prior words were pastoral safeguards, not punitive judgments.
The words — κατὴκρισιν (katakrisin) = condemnation; προεἴρηκα (proeirēka) = I have before said. The text explicitly states the speaker's prior words were not intended as a verdict of guilt.
The thread — The motif of shared heart and mutual spiritual bond recurs in 2 Corinthians 6:11, Philippians 1:8, and Ruth 1:16. These references trace a consistent pattern of covenantal loyalty that frames disciplinary correction within relational commitment.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to separate corrective instruction from personal condemnation and to accept mutual spiritual interdependence. It demands that recipients recognize disciplinary words as evidence of shared life rather than as a declaration of separation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 6:11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our hearts are open wide.
- Philippians 1:8 God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
- Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
- 2 Corinthians 12:15 And for the sake of your souls, I will most gladly spend my money and myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?
- 1 Thessalonians 2:8 We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
- 1 Corinthians 4:14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.
- 2 Corinthians 2:4 For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you.
- 2 Corinthians 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
- 2 Corinthians 7:12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong or the one who was harmed, but rather that your earnestness on our behalf would be made clear to you in the sight of God.
- 2 Corinthians 11:11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!