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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
2 Cor C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13
2 Cor 12 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20
OET (OET-LV) lest again having_come of_me, will_be_humbling me the god of_me to you_all, and I_may_mourn many of_the ones having_previously_sinned, and not having_repented for the impurity, and sexual_immorality, and wantonness, which they_practiced.
OET (OET-RV) I’m worried that when I come, God will humble me there with you all, and I might be upset about many who’ve sinned in the past and haven’t repented from the impurity and sexual immorality and self-centred living that they practiced.
In this section, the attitude of some believers in Corinth forced Paul to act foolishly and boast (12:11a). Paul knew he deserved praise from them and was better than the false teachers even though humanly speaking he deserved nothing (12:11b–d). Paul reminded the believers of all that he had done among them that proved he was an apostle (12:12). He asked them if they were angry at him with a rhetorical question and, using irony, told them that they should not be angry (12:13).
He told them that he would continue to avoid accepting their money for his support and explained why (12:14). He told them of his great love for them (12:15).
Using irony, Paul told them that he had not deceived them (12:16) and that his colleagues had not exploited them either (12:17–18). He explained that he had not been defending himself, but rather he was teaching them to be strong in their faith (12:19). He told them of some of his fears about them (12:20–21).
Other examples for this section heading are:
Paul’s Concern for the Corinthian Church (NRSV)
Paul loved the believers in Corinth
Paul reminded the believers in Corinth about his deeds and explained his worry for them
Paul defended his apostleship and spoke about his concern for the believers
I am afraid that when I come again, my God will humble me before you,
I fear that when I come again, God will humble me in your(plur) presence,
I am concerned/worried that when I come to visit you, God will shame me as I stand before you over the disobedience I will see.
my God will humble me before you: If the believers obeyed Paul’s commands in this letter, he would be proud of them. But if they did not obey him, he would feel that God had humbled him because they had not learned well what he taught them. Other ways to translate this are:
God will humble me in your presence (NLT)
God will shame me as I stand before you over the disobedience I will see
before you: This phrase indicates that the believers would see that God had humbled Paul. See the examples above.
and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier
and I will mourn about many of you who sinned previously
And I will weep as if over a dead loved one for any of you who sinned before
I will be grieved: The verb grieved indicates that Paul would feel very sad toward those who had not repented. He would feel as he would toward someone whom he had loved but who had died. For example:
I may have to mourn (RSV)
I will feel as if I am grieving for someone who died
impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery: Here the three Greek words refer to sexual sin. Each term focuses on a slightly different kind of sexual sin. All together they refer to every kind of sexual sin. Also see the notes on these words below.
and have not repented of their acts of impurity, sexual immorality,
and have not repented of the perverse sex, sexual immorality,
but have not changed their thinking about the dirty/impure sex, other sexual sin,
repented: The Greek word here refers to changing one’s mind. It implies that the believers were to stop sinning and start obeying God. Some other examples are:
turn back to God
changed their hearts or turned from (NCV)
leave the ways of sin and follow the ways of God
See how you translated this word in 7:9 (where the BSB translates it as “repentance”).
acts: The Greek word that the BSB translates as acts refers to something that is done regularly. For example:
practicing
habitually doing
impurity: Here the Greek word that the BSB translates as impurity refers to sex that people would say was morally awful. For example:
perversion (GW)
filthy sexual sins
sexual immorality: Here the Greek word that the BSB translates as sexual immorality refers to prostitution and sex between people who are not married. For example:
fornication (KJV)
and debauchery.
and life of lust that they practiced.
and their continual desiring/seeking of sex.
debauchery: This word refers to excessive sexual practices. Other ways to translate this word are:
living based on lust
sensuality (NASB)
eagerness for lustful pleasure (NLT)
promiscuity (GW)
In this division, Paul concluded his letter with some warnings (13:1–10) and some final greetings (13:11–13). He then ended the letter with a blessing (13:14).
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
μὴ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή πάλιν ἐλθόντος μού ταπεινώσει μέ ὁ Θεός μού πρός ὑμᾶς καί πενθήσω πολλούς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καί μή μετανοησάντων ἐπί τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καί πορνείᾳ καί ἀσελγείᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν)
Paul is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the previous verse if it would be clearer in your language (See: [12:20](../12/20.md)). Alternate translation: [and I fear that]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
πάλιν ἐλθόντος μου, ταπεινώσῃ με ὁ Θεός μου
again ˓having˒_come (Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή πάλιν ἐλθόντος μού ταπεινώσει μέ ὁ Θεός μού πρός ὑμᾶς καί πενθήσω πολλούς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καί μή μετανοησάντων ἐπί τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καί πορνείᾳ καί ἀσελγείᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν)
Here the word again could go with: (1) I come. In this case, Paul is speaking about how he plans to visit the Corinthians a third time. Alternate translation: [when I come yet again, my God might humble me] (2) God might humble me. In this case, Paul means that God may humble him again, just as he did when Paul visited the Corinthians previously (See: [2:1](../02/01.md)). Alternate translation: [when I come, my God might humble me again]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ταπεινώσῃ με ὁ Θεός μου πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή πάλιν ἐλθόντος μού ταπεινώσει μέ ὁ Θεός μού πρός ὑμᾶς καί πενθήσω πολλούς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καί μή μετανοησάντων ἐπί τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καί πορνείᾳ καί ἀσελγείᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν)
Here Paul could be implying that God will humble him: (1) because he would feel ashamed about how the Corinthians were acting. Alternate translation: [my God might humble me by making me feel shame about you, and] (2) because he would have to use his authority for tearing down instead of building up. Alternate translation: [my God might humble me before you by making me punish you, and] (3) because he would mourn publicly. Alternate translation: [my God might humble me before you because]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish
ὁ Θεός μου
the God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή πάλιν ἐλθόντος μού ταπεινώσει μέ ὁ Θεός μού πρός ὑμᾶς καί πενθήσω πολλούς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καί μή μετανοησάντων ἐπί τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καί πορνείᾳ καί ἀσελγείᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν)
When Paul speaks of my God, he does not mean that this is a different God than the one the Corinthians believe in. Rather, he simply wishes to state that this God is his God. If the phrase my God sounds like it makes a distinction between Paul’s God and the Corinthians’ God, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the God I serve] or [our God]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ, καὶ πορνείᾳ, καὶ ἀσελγείᾳ
the impurity (Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή πάλιν ἐλθόντος μού ταπεινώσει μέ ὁ Θεός μού πρός ὑμᾶς καί πενθήσω πολλούς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καί μή μετανοησάντων ἐπί τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καί πορνείᾳ καί ἀσελγείᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν)
The terms impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery mean similar things. Paul is using the three terms together to include all types of sexual sin. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with two words or a single phrase. Alternate translation: [the debauchery and sexual immorality] or [the many kinds of sexual immorality]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἐπὶ τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ, καὶ πορνείᾳ, καὶ ἀσελγείᾳ, ᾗ ἔπραξαν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή πάλιν ἐλθόντος μού ταπεινώσει μέ ὁ Θεός μού πρός ὑμᾶς καί πενθήσω πολλούς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καί μή μετανοησάντων ἐπί τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καί πορνείᾳ καί ἀσελγείᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν)
If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of impurity, immorality, and debauchery, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [from acting in impure ways and doing sexually immoral things and enjoying indecent actions] or [from acting in impure and sexually immoral and indecent ways]
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”).
OET (OET-LV) lest again having_come of_me, will_be_humbling me the god of_me to you_all, and I_may_mourn many of_the ones having_previously_sinned, and not having_repented for the impurity, and sexual_immorality, and wantonness, which they_practiced.
OET (OET-RV) I’m worried that when I come, God will humble me there with you all, and I might be upset about many who’ve sinned in the past and haven’t repented from the impurity and sexual immorality and self-centred living that they practiced.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.