2 Corinthians 12:21 (LSB)

Passage

I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality which they have practiced.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 12:19 All this time you think we are defending ourselves to you. We speak in Christ in the sight of God. And all these things, beloved, are for your building up.

2 Corinthians 12:20 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances.

2 Corinthians 12:21 I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality which they have practiced.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "afraid", "come", "again", "humiliate", "before", "mourn", "over", and "sinned". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "afraid" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The prior verse says "For I am afraid that perhaps when...", giving immediate footing for "afraid" and "come". In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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