---
title: 2 Corinthians 6:17
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/2-corinthians-6-17/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/2-corinthians-6-17.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 2 Corinthians 6:17
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 2 Corinthians 6:17

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

## JW Usage

"'Therefore, get out from among them, and separate yourselves,' says Jehovah, 'and quit touching the unclean thing'" is a cornerstone text for JW separation from "the world" — Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Mother's Day, patriotic symbols, other religious traditions, and politically engaged activity. The verse is treated as authorising the Governing Body's sweeping list of forbidden associations: anything with a pagan-origin trail, anything with Christendom, anything that could compromise the Witness's distinctive identity.

## Protestant Usage

Paul's principle — quoting Isaiah 52:11 — is genuine, and rightly applied it is important. What Paul calls "unclean" is idolatry and the moral corruption that goes with it (see verses 14-16: darkness, Belial, idols). The question is what counts as "touching the unclean thing." 1 Corinthians 8:4 — by the same author, to the same church — gives the answer: "we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one." Pagan association does not transfer spiritual power; an idol is literally nothing.
The Watchtower's application of 2 Corinthians 6:17 runs through a genetic fallacy the organisation itself abandons whenever convenient. Every day of the week is named after a pagan god (Sunday = sun-god, Wednesday = Woden, Thursday = Thor). The Gregorian calendar comes from Julius Caesar, Pontifex Maximus of Roman state religion. Wedding rings have pre-Christian pagan origins — a point the *Awake!* itself defended in the year 2000 ("the custom has become so widespread that it is no longer associated with pagan worship"). Once the rule is exempted for wedding rings, it has been exempted. Romans 14:5-6 then becomes the governing principle: "let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day observes it to Jehovah." A Christian remembering the Incarnation on December 25 is not worshipping Sol Invictus — especially since Sol Invictus has had no worshippers for sixteen centuries.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Holidays Are Not Pagan — Read Jeremiah 10 to Verse 5](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/holidays-pagan-origin-engagement.md) — Romans 14:5-6 / Colossians 2:16-17 / Jeremiah 10:5 [Practice]