22. A solemn closing warning added in his own hand as in Eph 6:24; Col 4:18.
the Lord—who ought to be "loved" above Paul, Apollos, and all other teachers. Love to one another is to be in connection with love to Him above all. Ignatius [Epistle to the Romans, 7] writes of Christ, "My love, has been crucified" (compare So 2:7).
Jesus Christ—omitted in the oldest manuscripts.
let him be Anathema—accursed with that curse which the Jews who call Jesus "accursed" (1Co 12:3) are bringing righteously on their own heads [Bengel]. So far from "saluting" him, I bid him be accursed.
Maranatha—Syriac for, "the Lord cometh." A motto or watchword to urge them to preparedness for the Lord's coming; as in Php 4:5, "The Lord is at hand."