2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1
God's Temple People Pursue Holiness Without Compromising Idolatry
Temple loyalty refuses binding partnership with lawlessness; it is not a warrant to isolate or to stay unsafe.
Paul asks how righteousness can share a yoke with lawlessness, light with darkness, Christ with Belial, God's temple with idols. The community is the living temple of the living God. A chain of promises names God's dwelling and welcome, then calls the beloved to cleanse themselves from defilement of flesh and spirit and to complete holiness in the fear of God.
The target is binding participation that joins God's people to idolatry, deceit, and harm—not every friendship, workplace, or mixed household. The warning does not command isolation, contempt, forced divorce, or remaining in an unsafe relationship that happens to wear Christian labels. Holiness is not coercive control of dating, family, work, or care.
How this should shape us
Test partnerships by what you actually share: worship, money, secrecy, exploitation. Keep neighbor love and safety, and do not use "unequal yoke" to demonize people or to trap someone in a Christian-branded harm.
Teach it back
Explain 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1 in your own words. Include its place in 2 Corinthians's movement, the unit's logic, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: The unit may be integral, a Pauline fragment, or an interpolation; no surviving manuscript omits it. Its target may involve idolatry, rival teachers, pagan wisdom, cultic meals, or broader association.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
SBLGNT official text file 2Co.txt, 6:14–7:1
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
NET Bible 2 Corinthians chapter print views, 6:14–7:1, including attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Whole-letter setting, literary movement, Greek observations, and passage-level evangelical interpretation.
Balla, TGC Bible Commentary, 2 Corinthians, introduction and section on 6:14–7:1
Supports: Jewish and Greco-Roman context, scriptural echoes, composition questions, and concise verse-level alternatives.
Avery-Peck, Jewish Annotated New Testament, print pp. 315–331, introduction and annotations on 6:14–7:1
Supports: Focused argument that the unbelievers are Gentile pagans shaped by pagan wisdom, weighed against opponent and broader mixed-group proposals.
Harrison, 'The apistoi of 2 Cor 6:14,' Novum Testamentum 55.1 (2013), pp. 45–60
Supports: A detailed multi-stage composition hypothesis considered alongside the canonical letter's observable coherence.
Jordaan, 'A Hypothesis for the Composition History of Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians,' In die Skriflig 48.1 (2014), article a1783, pp. 1–9
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 2Co.txt, 6:14–7:1
Open the 2 Corinthians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - 2 Corinthians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Corinthians chapter print views, 6:14–7:1, including attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open NET 2 Corinthians 6 notesmodern open commentary
2 Corinthians
Peter Balla
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Whole-letter setting, literary movement, Greek observations, and passage-level evangelical interpretation.
Exact location: Balla, TGC Bible Commentary, 2 Corinthians, introduction and section on 6:14–7:1
Open source ↗modern annotated new testament
2 Corinthians introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Alan J. Avery-Peck; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: Jewish and Greco-Roman context, scriptural echoes, composition questions, and concise verse-level alternatives.
Exact location: Avery-Peck, Jewish Annotated New Testament, print pp. 315–331, introduction and annotations on 6:14–7:1
Open source ↗peer reviewed exegetical article
The apistoi of 2 Cor 6:14: Are They Unbelievers?
T. J. Harrison
Novum Testamentum 55.1, 2013
Supports: Focused argument that the unbelievers are Gentile pagans shaped by pagan wisdom, weighed against opponent and broader mixed-group proposals.
Exact location: Harrison, 'The apistoi of 2 Cor 6:14,' Novum Testamentum 55.1 (2013), pp. 45–60
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access composition study
A Hypothesis for the Composition History of Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians
Gert J. C. Jordaan
In die Skriflig 48.1, 2014
Supports: A detailed multi-stage composition hypothesis considered alongside the canonical letter's observable coherence.
Exact location: Jordaan, 'A Hypothesis for the Composition History of Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians,' In die Skriflig 48.1 (2014), article a1783, pp. 1–9
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1
Open source ↗