19 Have you been thinking all along that we were defending ourselves to you? No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.(A) 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and you may not find me to be what you want. Perhaps there will be quarreling,(B) jealousy,(C) angry outbursts, selfish ambitions,(D) slander,(E) gossip, arrogance, and disorder.(F) 21 I fear that when I come my God will again[a] humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented(G) of the moral impurity, sexual immorality,(H) and sensuality(I) they practiced.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:21 Or come again my God will

19 Have you been thinking all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and all these things, dear friends, are for your edification. 20 For I am afraid lest somehow when I[a] arrive, I will not find you as I want, and I may be found by you as you do not want. I am afraid[b] lest somehow there will be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, pride, disorder. 21 I am afraid lest when I[c] come again my God will humiliate me in your presence[d], and I will grieve over many of those who sinned previously and have not repented because of their impurity and sexual immorality and licentiousness that they have practiced.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 12:20 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“arrive”) which is understood as temporal
  2. 2 Corinthians 12:20 The words “I am afraid” are not in the Greek text, but are an understood repetition from the previous clause
  3. 2 Corinthians 12:21 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“come”) which is understood as temporal
  4. 2 Corinthians 12:21 Literally “with you”