2 Corinthians 12:21
And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
Study Note
Study Note
Paul dreads that when he arrives he will be humbled by God before the very congregation he founded — humiliated by discovering persistent sin among those he has loved and labored over. The specific sins listed — uncleanness, fornication, lasciviousness — reflect the sexual culture of Corinth, a Roman colony where temple prostitution and moral permissiveness were widespread. The verse illustrates the pastoral pathos underlying 2 Corinthians: Paul's apostolic authority coexists with deep emotional investment and grief, and his warning tone in chapters 10–13 is shaped by this fear of finding unrepented sin rather than pure desire to exercise ecclesiastical power.
Other Translations
lest again when I come my God should humble me before you, and I should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretofore, and repented not of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed.
lest again having come, my God may humble me in regard to you, and I may bewail many of those having sinned before, and not having reformed concerning the uncleanness, and whoredom, and lasciviousness, that they did practise.
And that when I come again, my God may put me to shame among you, and I may have grief for those who have done wrong before and have had no regret for their unclean ways, and for the evil desires of the flesh to which they have given way.
Cross References
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