2 Corinthians 6:17
in 2 Corinthians 6“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you,
KJV
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
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This verse in 2 Corinthians 6
Commentary
15 notes on this verseWherefore come out from among them,.... Since they were the temple of the living God, built up an habitation for the Most High; since he resided among them, took his walks in the midst of them, was their God, and they were his people. These words are taken out of Isa 52:11 where the several phrases here used may be observed.
This site's exposition
come out from among them
on 2 Corinthians 6:17-18
The call to come out from among them and be separate draws on Isaiah 52:11, the call out of Babylon, applied to separation from idolatry. The exodus pattern is reused as the shape of holiness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Again, "Go ye out from the midst of them; touch not the unclean thing; separate yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord." (The apostle says further: ) "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess," -a precept which is suggested by the passage (of the prophet), where the seducers of the consecrated (Nazarites) to drunkenness are rebuked: "Ye gave wine to my holy ones to drink.
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsConstitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 6 · Written before 380.
proposed
But do you, brethren, who are instructed out of the Scripture, take care not to make divisions in opinion, nor divisions in unity. For those who set up unlawful opinions are marks of perdition to the people. In like manner, do not you of the laity come near to such as advance doctrines contrary to the mind of God; nor be you partakers of their impiety. For says God: "Separate yourselves from the midst of these men, lest you perish together with them." And again: "Depart from the midst of them, and separate yourselves, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you."
If you think this said about a heathen, at all events about believers you have already heard (it said) through Isaiah: "Go out from the midst of them, and be separate, and touch not the impure."
"Wherefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch no unclean thing; and I will receive you, saith the Lord." And He said not, 'Do not unclean things'; but, requiring greater strictness, 'do not even touch,' saith he, 'nor go near them.' But what is filthiness of the flesh? Adultery, fornication, lasciviousness of every kind. And what of the soul? Unclean thoughts, as gazing with unchaste eyes, malice, deceits, and whatsoever such things there be. He wishes then that they should be clean in both. Seest thou how great the prize? To be delivered from what is evil, to be made one with God.
Wherefore also in the Barbarian philosophy they call those dead who have fallen away from the dogmas, and have placed the mind in subjection to carnal passions. "For what fellowship hath righteousness and iniquity?" according to the divine apostle. "Or what communion hath light with darkness? or what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath the believer with the unbeliever?" For the honours of the Olympians and of mortals lie apart. "Wherefore also go forth from the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be to you for a Father, and ye shall be my sons and daughters."
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
He did not say: do not do foolish things, but: do not even touch them. Uncleanness is of two kinds: bodily and spiritual. To the spiritual belong impure thoughts, impure gazes, malice, deceit, and the like; while to bodily uncleanness belong: fornication, adultery, and every …
Then when he says, Therefore come out from them, he confirms this admonition with another authority. In regard to this he does two things. First, he confirms the admonition by an authority; secondly, he indicates the reward promised to those who heed the admonition (v. …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And ye shall be to me for sons and for daughters, saith the Lord Almighty - The promise made to Solomon, 1 Chr. xxviii, 6, is here applied to all believers; as the promise made particularly to Josh. is applied to them, Heb. xiii, 5. Who can express the worth, who can conceive the dignity, of this divine adoption? Yet it belongs to all who believe the gospel, who have faith in Christ.
Who can touch pitch, and not be defiled by it? We must take care not to defile ourselves by converse with those who defile themselves with sin; so is the will of God, as we ever hope to be received, and not rejected, by him. (4.) It is base ingratitude to God for all the favours he has bestowed upon believers and promised to them,
In these verses we have an account of the apostle's general errand and exhortation to all to whom he preached in every place where he came, with the several arguments and methods he used. The errand or exhortation itself, namely, to comply with the gospel offers of reconciliation--that, being favoured with the gospel, they would not receive this grace of God in vain,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Wherefore - Since you are a special people. Since God, the holy and blessed God, dwells with you and among you. Come out from among them - That is, from among idolaters and unbelievers; from a frivolous and vicious world. These words are taken, by a slight change, from Isa 3:11. They are there applied to the Jews in Babylon, and are a solemn call which God makes on them to leave the place of their exile, to come out from among the idolaters of that city and return to their own land; see my note on that place.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Touching is more polluting, as implying participation, than seeing. receive you--The Greek implies, "to myself"; as persons heretofore out of doors, but now admitted within (2Co 5:1-10). With this accords the clause, "Come out from among them," namely, so as to be received to me.
Wherefore come out from among them - Is it not plain from this and the following verse that God would be their God only on the ground of their taking him for such, and that this depended on their being separated from the works and workers of iniquity? for God could not inhabit in them if they had concord with Belial, a portion with infidels; etc. Those who will have the promises of God fulfilled to them must come under the conditions of these promises: if they are not separate - if they touch the unclean thing, God will not receive them; and therefore will not be their God, nor shall they be his people.
The words behind it
16 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Διὸ | dio | Therefore | G1352 → | 53 times |
| ἐξέλθατε | exelthate | do come out | G1831 → | 216 times |
| ἐκ | ek | from | G1537 → | 911 times |
| μέσου | mesou | [the] midst | G3319 → | |
| αὐτῶν | auton | of them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀφορίσθητε, | aphoristhete | do be separate, | G873 → | |
| λέγει | legei | says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| κύριος, | kurios | [the] Lord, | G2962 → | 711 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀκαθάρτου | akathartou | unclean | G169 → | |
| μὴ | me | nothing | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ἅπτεσθε· | haptesthe | do touch; | G681 → | |
| κἀγὼ | kago | and I myself | G1473 →G2532 → | 839 times |
| εἰσδέξομαι | eisdexomai | will receive | G1523 → | |
| ὑμᾶς, | humas | you, | G4771 → | 2973 times |
ΔιὸTherefore
dioG1352 →53 times
ἐξέλθατεdo come out
exelthateG1831 →216 times
ἐκfrom
ekG1537 →911 times
μέσου[the] midst
mesouG3319 →
αὐτῶνof them
autonG846 →5565 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀφορίσθητε,do be separate,
aphoristheteG873 →
λέγειsays
legeiG3004 →1325 times
κύριος,[the] Lord,
kuriosG2962 →711 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀκαθάρτουunclean
akathartouG169 →
μὴnothing
meG3361 →1066 times
ἅπτεσθε·do touch;
haptestheG681 →
κἀγὼand I myself
εἰσδέξομαιwill receive
eisdexomaiG1523 →
ὑμᾶς,you,
humasG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 7:1Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
- 1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
- James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Psalms 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:7
Through
Revelation 18:4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:6
Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
- Jeremiah 51:45
Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.
- Isaiah 52:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About 2 Corinthians
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 6; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily 13 on 2 Corinthians; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V; Tertullian, On Modesty; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Corinthians.