Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Parallel Translations
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Greet one another with a holy kiss.
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Grete one another in an holy kysse.
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Greete one another with an holy kisse. All the Saintes salute you.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 13:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. The assemblies of Christ greet you.
- 1 Peter 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to all of you who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
- 1 Corinthians 16:20 All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He saluteth them familiarly, and in conclusion wisheth well…
He saluteth them familiarly, and in conclusion wisheth well unto them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 12 Greet one another with an holy kiss.
12 Greet one another with an holy kiss.
Ver. 12. With a holy kiss] A custom proper to those times. {See Trapp on "Rom 16:16"} {See Trapp on "1Co 16:20"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain See Poole on "Rom 16:16". See Poole on "1Co…
See Poole on "Rom 16:16". See Poole on "1Co 16:20". It was an ancient custom and of common use, when friends met, for them (as a token of mutual love and friendship) to kiss each other: the Christians used it also at their ecclesiastical assemblings. It must not be looked upon as a precept, obliging all Christians to do the like; but only as directing those that then did use it, to use it innocently, chastely, sincerely, and holily.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain He exhorts them, according to the custom of those…
He exhorts them, according to the custom of those eastern countries, to salute one another with a kiss, as a token of mutual and sincere love: And since it was become a practice in sacred meetings and church assemblies, particularly before their receiving the holy communion, to kiss each other, he advises them to use it innocently, chastely; let it not be a wanton, but an holy kiss.
However, afterwards, the piety and purity of the church degenerating and declining, it was laid aside. That which is innocent in itself, and pious in its first intendment, may in time, fall under such abuse, as to cause it wholly to be laid aside.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Greet one another with an holy kiss. See Gill…
Greet one another with an holy kiss. See Gill on Rom 16:16.
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2 Corinthians 13:13
co2 13:13
co2 13:13
co2 13:13All the saints salute you. Being all interested in the same divine favour, redeemed by the same blood, and sanctified by the same grace, they have a common concern for each other's welfare; See Gill on Rom 16:16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Greet one another with a holy kiss.]…
Verse 12. Greet one another with a holy kiss.] Use every means by which a good understanding may be brought about. Let the spirit of friendship live among you, and encourage its continuance by every friendly act. See Clarke on Ro 16:16.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Greet - Salute; see the note, Rom 16:3.
Greet - Salute; see the note, Rom 16:3.
With an holy kiss - note, Rom 16:16.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain This was customary with both Jews and Persians, as…
This was customary with both Jews and Persians, as we learn from Xenophon and Herodotus, and with other oriental nations. And in process of time, from the custom of common life, it was introduced into ecclesiastial assemblies. The ancients were in the habit before they began their meal to embrace each other, to manifest by that sign their mutual cordiality and friendship; then they contributed their alms, that they might give a substantial proof of what was represented by their kiss of charity. (Pastorini)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. Holy kiss—Note, Rom_16:16.
12. Holy kiss—Note, Rom_16:16.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. Greet one another with a holy kiss] See…
12. Greet one another with a holy kiss] See note on 1Co_16:20.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) Greet one another with an holy kiss.—The tense…
(12) Greet one another with an holy kiss.—The tense of the Greek verb indicates that the Apostle is giving directions, not for a normal and, as it were, liturgical usage, but for a single act. In doing so, he repeats what he had said in 1Co_16:20. The same injunction appears in Rom_16:16; 1Th_5:26. What he meant was that, as the public reading of the Epistle came to a close, the men who listened should embrace each other and kiss each other’s cheeks, in token that all offences were forgotten and forgiven, and that there was nothing but peace and goodwill between them. It was, perhaps, natural, that the counsel should be taken as a rubric, even at the cost of its losing its real significance, and becoming a stereotyped formula. So in the Apostolic Constitutions (possibly of the third century) we find the rubric, “Let the deacons say to all, ‘Salute ye one another with a holy kiss:’ and let the clergy salute the bishop, the men of the laity salute the men, the women the women.” The deacons were to watch that there was no disorder during the act (8:57). In the account given by Justin (Apol. i. 65) it appears as preceding the oblation of the bread and wine for the Eucharistic Feast, as it did in most of the Eastern liturgies, probably as a symbolic act of obedience to the command of Mat_5:24. In the Western Church it came after the consecration of the elements and the Lord’s Prayer. It was intermitted on Good Friday in the African Church (Tertull. De Orat. c. 14) as unsuitable for a day of mourning. It may be noted as the survival of a residuum of the old practice, that when the usage was suppressed by the Western Church, in the thirteenth century, it was replaced by the act of kissing a marble or ivory tablet, on which some sacred subject, such as the Crucifixion, had been carved, which was passed from one to another, and was known as the osculatorium, or “kissing instrument.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Great one another. The verb, being in the aorist,…
Great one another. The verb, being in the aorist, refers to a single act. When the letter had been read in their hearing, they were, in sign of perfect unity and mutual forgiveness, to give one another the kiss of peace. With a holy kiss. (see on 1Co_16:20; comp. 1Pe_5:14)
Vers. 12, 13.
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Salutation.
Among the various features which distinguish these apostolic documents from ordinary treatises must be noticed the prominence they attach to social greetings. The personal element mingles very beautifully with the doctrinal and the practical. The apostle"s theme may have been absorbing, but he usually, in bringing an Epistle to its close, refers to the individuals by whom he is himself surrounded his companions and colleagues, and to such as were known to him among the community he is addressing.
I UPON WHAT CHRISTIAN GREETINGS ARE BASED. They differ from common everyday salutations in this, that they are not mere forms, and are not exchanged as a matter of course. They presume a common relation to, a common interest in, the Divine Saviour. The vital union of Christ"s people to himself involves an intercommunion of sympathy amongst themselves.
II IN WHAT CHRISTIAN SALUTATION FINDS EXPRESSION,
1. In words and in messages of spiritual friendship, in the case of thosewho are absent from one another. It is thus proved that distance does not sunder hearts, that the spiritual family, dispersed through many places, is nevertheless but one.
2. In the primitive Churches the Christian greeting took the form of the"holy kiss." In this a common social usage was sanctified by a new and higher meaning. The custom was one which in some Churches was retained for centuries. The kiss of peace, brotherhood, and love was felt to be the appropriate symbol of the new and all-pervading sentiment of Christian kindness.
III WHAT PURPOSES CHRISTIAN GREETINGS SUBSERVE. We may trace several very useful practical ends secured by them.
1. They are evident tokens of the wide diffusion of the Saviour"s spiritualpresence. It is because Christ is with and in his Church that the living members of this Church, pervaded by one Spirit, show true unity and love.
2. They remove the distressing feeling of isolation from which Christ"speople may in many circumstances grievously suffer.
3. They are an anticipation of the confidential and affectionate fellowshipwhich is (next to the presence of the Redeemer) to be expected as the highest joy of the heavenly state. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 12. Salute one another, etc. See notes on Rom.…
12. Salute one another, etc. See notes on Rom. 16:16, and 1 Cor. 16:20.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Salute one another with a holy kiss . […
Salute one another with a holy kiss . [ Rom_16:16 ; 1Co_16:20 ; 1Pe_5:14 . See note on 1Th_5:26 ]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:12-13 a sacred kiss: The kiss was a common…
13:12-13 a sacred kiss: The kiss was a common Jewish form of salutation, not only a sign of personal affection. Common in the New Testament church (Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 1 Thes 5:26; 1 Pet 5:14), it may have a significance in worship services in uniting fellow believers (the “kiss of peace”). The word for sacred (Greek hagiō) is the same word that is translated God’s people (literally the saints; Greek hagioi) in the next sentence. • God’s people here were the believers in the place from which Paul was writing in Macedonia.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.