“(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”
My Notes
What Does 2 Corinthians 6:2 Mean?
Paul quotes Isaiah 49:8 and then delivers an urgent commentary: "behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation." The prophetic promise of a future favorable time has arrived. The day Isaiah described is today. The window is open. And Paul says: now.
The double "behold" (idou) is an attention command: look at this. See it. Notice it. The double "now" (nyn) is the urgency: not tomorrow. Not eventually. Now. The accepted time — the moment when God's favor is accessible, when salvation is available, when the door is open — is the present moment.
Paul isn't just quoting prophecy. He's applying it. The "day of salvation" Isaiah predicted isn't a future eschatological event. It's the current era — the age of grace, the church age, the time between Christ's resurrection and His return. The favorable time is running. And it won't run forever.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Does the urgency of 'now' change your sense of spiritual timing — or do you keep pushing things to 'later'?
- 2.What decision or response have you been delaying that Paul says shouldn't wait?
- 3.How does knowing the 'accepted time' has boundaries (it won't last forever) affect your urgency?
- 4.Is there someone who needs to hear 'now is the day of salvation' from you today?
Devotional
Now. Now. Not tomorrow. Not later. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation.
Paul takes Isaiah's prophetic promise — God's future favorable time — and stamps it with today's date. The time Isaiah saw from a distance, Paul says you're standing in. The day of salvation isn't coming. It's here. Right now. And the double urgency (now... now) means the window matters.
The accepted time is the time when God is accepting. When the door is open. When grace is available. When salvation is accessible. And Paul says that time is now — this very moment you're reading this.
The urgency isn't panic. It's opportunity. The accepted time doesn't last forever. The day of salvation has boundaries. There was a time before it (the Law era). There will be a time after it (the judgment). You're living in the window. And the window is named "now."
Every moment you delay — every "I'll think about it tomorrow," every "someday I'll get serious," every "I'm not ready yet" — is a moment spent inside the accepted time without accepting it. The door is open now. The favor is accessible now. The salvation is offered now.
Isaiah saw this day from seven hundred years away. Paul lived in it and said: don't miss it. It's here. The day is today. The time is now.
What are you waiting for?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted,.... These words are a citation from Isa 49:8 and are spoken by the…
For he saith - see Isa 49:8. In that passage the declaration refers to the Messiah, and the design is there to show that…
For he saith - That is, God hath said it, by the prophet Isaiah, Isa 49:8; which place the apostle quotes verbatim et…
In these verses we have an account of the apostle's general errand and exhortation to all to whom he preached in every…
For he saith In Isa 49:8. The passage follows the LXX. translation.
I have heard thee in a time accepted The words in…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture