2 Corinthians 12:20 (KJV)

Passage

For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 12:18 I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

2 Corinthians 12:19 Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.

2 Corinthians 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:

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 Lenses

The verse centers on "fear", "lest", "come", "shall", "find", "such", and "found". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fear" and "lest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Again think ye that we excuse ourselves..." into verse 21's "And lest when I come again my...", so "fear" and "lest" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fear" and "lest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.