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¹ This will be the third time that I have come to visit you. Any charge must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^{[a] 2} To those who sinned in the past and to the rest I say beforehand while absent the same thing I said when I was with you the second time: if I come again I will not spare you — ³ since you are looking for proof of the Messiah speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but he is powerful among you. ⁴ For although he was executed on a stake in weakness, now he lives by God's power. And we too are weak in union with him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by God's power.

⁵ Examine yourselves to see whether you are living the life of trust. Test yourselves. Don't you realize that Yeshua the Messiah is in you? — unless you fail to pass the test. ⁶ But I hope you will realize that we are not failures. ⁷ And we pray to God that you will do nothing wrong. We are not concerned with our appearing successful, but with your doing what is right, even if we appear to be failures. ⁸ For we cannot act against the truth, only for it. ⁹ So we rejoice whenever we are weak and you are strong; indeed, what we pray for is that you become perfect. ¹⁰ I write these things while away from you, so that when I am with you I will not have to use my authority to deal sharply with you, for the Lord gave it to me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹ And now, brothers, shalom! Put yourselves in order, pay attention to my advice, be of one mind, live in shalom — and the God of love and shalom will be with you.

¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss.

¹³ All God's people send greetings to you.