II Corinthians 12:21
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I am afraid that when I come again, my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of their acts of impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
my God--his God, however trying the humiliation that was in store for him. will humble me--The indicative implies that the supposition will actually be so. The faithful pastor is "humbled" at, and "bewails" the falls of his people, as though they were his own. sinned already--before my last coming [BENGEL], that is, before the second visit which he paid, and in which he had much at Corinth to rebuke. have not repented--shall not have repented [ALFORD]. uncleanness--for example, of married persons (Th1 4:7). fornication--among the unmarried. Next: 2 Corinthians Chapter 13
Open source ↗In this chapter the apostle proceeds in maintaining the honour of his apostleship. He magnified his office when there were those who vilified it. What he says in his own praise was only in his own justification and the necessary defence of the honour of his ministry, the preservation of which was necessary to its success. First, He makes mention of the favour God had shown him, the honour done him, the methods God took to keep him humble, and the use he made of this dispensation (Co2 12:1-10). Then he addresses himself to the Corinthians, blaming them for what was faulty among them, and giving a large account of his behaviour and kind intentions towards them (Co2 12:11 to the end).
Open source ↗12:21 Paul fears that God will humble me in your presence—a reprise of the previous visit (2:1), when the Corinthians had rebuffed and humiliated Paul. • The vices listed were among the Corinthians’ old sins (see 6:14–7:1; 1 Corinthians Book Introduction, “Setting”).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone,
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.