2 Corinthians 12:15 (DBY)

Passage

Now *I* shall most gladly spend and be utterly spent for your souls, if even in abundantly loving you I should be less loved.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 12:13 For in what is it that ye have been inferior to the other assemblies, unless that I myself have not been in laziness a charge upon you? Forgive me this injury.

2 Corinthians 12:14 Behold, this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be in laziness a charge; for I do not seek yours, but you; for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

2 Corinthians 12:15 Now *I* shall most gladly spend and be utterly spent for your souls, if even in abundantly loving you I should be less loved.

2 Corinthians 12:16 But be it so. *I* did not burden you, but being crafty I took you by guile.

2 Corinthians 12:17 Did I make gain of you by any of those whom I have sent to you?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "most", "gladly", "spend", "utterly", "spent", "souls", and "even". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "most", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Behold this third time I am ready..." into verse 16's "But be it so I did not...", so "shall" and "most" 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 "shall" and "most" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.