Translation & Sermon by
Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 6 Sept.
2026
Underlined words in Scripture quotes indicate words that
are in common with the Greek text of the sermon passage. Otherwise,
underlining indicates words to emphasize when reading this transcript
out loud.
Throughout the book of 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul confronts rumors which have been spread by false apostles about him, and here we encounter yet another one: It was rumored that Paul sent Titus, Timothy, and Apollos to Corinth to take advantage of the Corinthian Christians.
He responds in chapter 12 verse 17 and following: “There wasn’t anyone among those whom I have commissioned to y’all through whom I took advantage of y’all, was there? I urged Titus, and I co-commissioned the brother. Titus didn’t take advantage of y’all, did he? Wasn’t it in the same spirit that we conducted ourselves? Was it not in the same tracks? Furthermore, are y’all supposing that it is to you that we are defending ourselves? It is before the presence of God in Christ that we are speaking, and all things, beloved, are for the sake of y’all’s edification. For I fear lest, once I come, I might find y’all not such as I want, and I myself might be found by y’all such as y’all don’t want, lest there be strifes, jealousies, ragings, selfish-ambitions, trash-talks, whisperings, haughtinesses, [and] instabilities – lest again at my coming, God will humble me before y’all and I shall mourn over many who have already been sinning and who did not repent over their uncleanness and sexual immorality and lack of restraint which they practiced.”
Often, hustlers rely upon third parties to gaslight a victim into paying money for something fraudulent.
In the classic Ponzi scheme, criminals make up a story about some new business that doesn’t actually exist, but they promise that if you invest in their scheme, you will make a huge profit. At first, the criminals pay some of the first investors the promised profit using money paid-in by other investors, and so the first investors are tricked into thinking that they have invested in a truly profitable business. Often these first-level investors have no idea that they are being manipulated by criminals; they think they have found an honest get-rich-quick investment. So they are encouraged to invest more money back into the Ponzi scheme in order to make even more money, and they are encouraged to tell all their friends about it. So, on the strength of the recommendation of these investors, their friends (and friends of their friends) pay money into the fraud, at which point, the criminals disappear with all the cash, and all those investors lose their money.
There is a similar phenomenon in the field of health products, where commercial advertisements portray happy, attractive persons claiming that a certain health product changed their lives for the better, and they recommending that you try to get your doctor to prescribe that product for you as well.
Social media is doing the same thing – isolating content consumers into affinity groups so that consumers get the impression that everybody affirms the same set of information points and the same set of action steps. This results in consumers buying-in to a limited set of options, unaware of other reasonable perspectives.
That’s what the false apostles were doing in Corinth. They were saying, “Paul sent Timothy and Titus and Apollos to make it appear that lots of people are believing that Jesus is God’s Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King, but it’s all a con game. Nobody believes that Jesus was anything more than an unstable criminal-type! Thank God they got rid of him! Now, let’s talk about the real business of establishing a Jewish theocracy!”
Most English versions loosely paraphrase the Greek of v.17 along the lines of, “Did I take advantage/gain/exploit you through any of those whom I have sent to you?”
A more literal translation of v.17 would be, “There wasn’t anyone among those whom I have commissioned to y’all through whom I took advantage of y’all, was there?”
Paul counters that rumor with a question in v.17, the mood of which, in the original Greek language, indicates that he expects the answer to be No. “No, Paul, you have not sent anyone that took advantage of us.”
This echoes Paul’s assertion in 2 Corinthians 7:2 where he uses some of the same words, “...there is no one we committed injustice against, there is no one we corrupted, there is no one we took advantage of.” (NAW) The “we” in 2 Corinthians 7:2 would include Timothy, Apollos, and Titus.
Then in 2 Corinthians 8:6 & 18, “...we urged Titus that, just as he had previously started it, so he might also bring to completion this grace among y'all as well…. And we sent together with him the brother, the praise of whom is in the Good News throughout all of the churches.” (NAW)
Then in 2 Corinthians 9:5 Paul said that he is sending “Titus” and “the brother” (presumably Luke) to collect donations for the poor in the church in Jerusalem before Paul arrives in Corinth1.
Paul doesn’t want the Corinthian church to think that he was sending these guys to bilk them out of their money and abscond with it. They should know better than that. Such had never been the character of Paul’s associates in church ministry.
This is the kind of trust which should be built within any local church. Your fellow church members should be able to trust that you and your associates are not out to take advantage of them.
Some folks join churches because it provides a context for making more business contacts and making more money.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with business being conducted among church members, but that should not be the main reason we are associating with a church.
We should be there to worship God and to build up His church, not to make gain for ourselves. Our relationship with the church should be to build up the body of Christ.
In v.18, Paul readily affirms that he is the one who “sent” Titus and the other brother out to Corinth in the past, and he is the one who is again sending them ahead of him with the letter of 2 Corinthians.
Paul uses the same Greek negative particle anticipating a negative response that he did in v.17 when he asks if Titus took advantage of the Corinthian church on his previous visit. No, of course Titus didn’t exploit them.
Then Paul switches to the Greek negative particle which anticipates a positive response for two more questions at the end of v.18: “Didn’t we act/walk/conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Weren’t we walking in the same steps/course/tracks?” Yes! All the apostles walked in the same spirit in the same way.
Each ministry partner that Paul had send to Corinth was carefully vetted by Paul to be a man of Christ-like character who would earnestly preach the gospel and not be a weasel.
We’ve seen earlier in the book of 2 Corinthians some glimpses into the character of Titus, that his presence brought “comfort” (7:6) and that he was “diligent” with ministry follow-through (8:16).2
Luke was “dearly beloved” (Col. 4:14), and his journals of his ministry trips with Paul published in the book of Acts show him to be faithful and trustworthy through thick and thin.
Likewise, Paul’s character was “free from the love of money,” as a good church overseer should be (1 Tim. 3:3). He said in Acts 20:33 “I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.” (NKJV)
Because these men all lived under the influence of the Holy “Spirit,” their lives exhibited the same godly character. Because these men were all followers of Jesus, their very “footsteps” had common purpose and common strategy.
What about us? If an outsider were to scrutinize the daily life of every one in our church, would they say that we all seem to have the same godly character of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and that all our footprints seem to point in the same direction – toward exalting Jesus as Lord through our work, worship, and disciple-making? Would they say we have the same “spirit” and that we leave the same “tracks”? That would be a wonderful testimony, wouldn’t it?
Maybe you’ve seen the triangle paradigm of relationships, where God is at the top of the triangle, you are at one of the bottom corners of the triangle, and other family members, church members, and community members are at the other bottom corner of the triangle.
There are lots of people who ignore God at the top and try to move closer to one another directly across the triangle in relationships, but Christians find that the more closeness they develop in their relationship with God the closer they find themselves to one another, because the sides of the triangle move them closer to each other the closer they get to God at the top! It is our relationship with God – our Father whom we have in common, that draws us closer together as brothers and sisters in Christ, in the way we think and act and feel.
A. W. Tozer, in his book, The Pursuit of God, wrote, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
The word order of the Greek text of verse 19 brings out a contrast.
The phrase “to y’all” and the phrase “before the sight of God” are both in emphatic positions in the Greek sentence, highlighting them as the main point of contrast.
Paul is saying, in effect, “Do you suppose we are so worried about your opinion of us that our main consideration in everything we do is whether or not YOU will approve of us? Heavens No! We’re not accountable to you, we’re accountable to God3. God sees everything we do, and in everything we do, we want to make sure that we are pleasing and obeying HIM!”
This is one of the main differences between true ministers of the Gospel and man-centered religionists.
Secular humanists don’t believe they are accountable to God, their primary concern is getting other men and women to accept and approve them.
Accuse them of doing something wrong, and they fall all over themselves making up excuses and shifting the blame onto others to convince you that they did nothing wrong.
It completely unhinges them when people disapprove of them. We see examples of this often on the news – someone gives up on gaining approval from other people and goes on a killing spree.
The mindset of a follower of Jesus is completely different.
We believe that we live all of life coram deo (“in the presence of God”) – at work, at home, at school, at play – everywhere. And everything we do on this earth is a sacrifice of service offered to God for His glory (Phil. 2:17, Heb. 13:16, 1 Pet. 2:5). As Paul said in Galatians 1:10 “[A]m I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (ESV)
We don’t come undone when someone doesn’t like us, because we truly believe that we are “blessed whenever liars reproach... and speak every evil against you for [Jesus’] sake ... leaping for joy, because your reward is bountiful in heaven” (Matt. 5:11-12, NAW).
We are actually “...persuaded that … no ... thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39, NKJV), so we do not despair and go on a rampage when we are not able to control other people’s opinions. We can rest in God’s unchanging love for us.
The KJV properly preserves the emphasis of the Greek word order here in v.19, for it is “in Christ” that we are able to be “in the presence of God” in the first place.
Try to show up in front of God without being “in Christ” and you’re going to hear, “Depart from me into the lake of fire.”
Paul is not emphasizing that the things he says are “in Christ” but rather that he stands “in front of God in Christ,” trusting in Christ to give him that standing in God’s presence.
It is only from that place of standing “before God in Christ” that we can then love and build up others.
This also affects our ability to address problems with other people.
If we are preoccupied with man-pleasing, we won’t dare mention the offenses of sin for fear we will lose the approval of friends,
but if we are preoccupied with God’s favor, we will have the courage to address sins which break fellowship with God.
If we know that Christ’s agenda is “... I will build my church...” (Matt. 16:18), then we can speak confidently, to what “builds/edifies” His church – the gospel, discipleship, and church development, just like Paul did (cf. 2 Cor. 10:8 & 13:10), rather than obsessing over whether or not other people like us or respect us.
Think that through next time you post something on social media: “Am I writing this in order to get “likes” from other people, or am I writing this to honor God and build up His church?” That will make all the difference in the world.
2 Corinthians 2:17 “[W]e are not commercializing the word of God (as many are), but rather we are communicating as from sincerity – rather as from God, in the sight of God, in accordance with the Anointed One.” (NAW)
Romans 14:19 “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” (NKJV, cf. 1 Cor. 14:26, Eph. 4:29)
Paul’s delay in re-visiting Corinth was based on his desire to see the church edified4.
He didn’t want to see the church wracked and ruined by the chronic sins listed at the end of v.20,
and he knew that if they were still that immature and sinful, he would be no fun to be around because, as he says in v.21, he would be grieving over their sins and struggling with feelings of humiliation and failure.
At the end of verse 20, Paul lists eight sins that he is afraid he might find festering among his beloved church members in Corinth still:
ἔρις/strifes/debates/contentions/quarreling5
The book of 1 Corinthians clearly displays that contention was a problem in that church:
1 Corinthians 1:11-12 “for it has been shown to me concerning you, my brothers, by the men from Chloe, that quarrels continue to exist among you… ‘As for me, I am of Paul,’ and, ‘As for me, I am of Apollos,’ and, ‘As for me, I am of Cephas’... ” (NAW)
1 Corinthians 3:3 “[Y]'all are still being fleshly, for where there is jealousy and fighting and divisions among you, aren't you being fleshly and walking according to humanism?” (NAW)
Paul exhorted later in Romans 13:13 “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness6 and lust/[sexual immorality], not in strife and envy.” (NKJV)
ζῆλοι/jealousies/envyings
This is closely related to the first item of “strife” because jealousy protects special interests, and “envy” seeks special advantages of one party over another within the church.
James 3:13-16 comments on this: “Who is wise and insightful among y'all? Let him start showing from his good lifestyle his works in wisdom's meekness. But since y'all are retaining bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, stop boasting and lying against the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ is not that which comes down from above, but rather is that which is earthly, naturalistic, [and] demonic, for, where jealousy and selfish-ambition are, there will be instability and every evil matter...” (NAW)
θυμοί/outbursts of wrath/angry tempers/furious rages
How many times do we get frustrated and let our passions carry us away into words and actions which destroy relationships!
Colossians 3:8 “...throw it all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, disgraceful speech from your mouth…” (NAW)
Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and yelling and slander be put away from y'all together with all malice, but continue to be kind to one another, compassionate, being gracious to each other, just as God also in Christ forgave y'all.” (NAW)
ἐριθείαι/strifes/selfish ambitions/disputes/factions/hostility (cf. Rom. 2:8)
Paul’s list of the “works of the flesh” in Galatians contains all four of these first four words in 2 Corinthians 12:20 - in the same order (plus 3 more from v.21): Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies … 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! … 26 Let us not become conceited7, provoking one another, envying8 one another.” (NKJV)9
Philippians 2:3 “[N]othing should be according to selfish-ambition or vain-glory, but rather in humble-mindedness, keep considering one another to have superiority over yourselves.” (NAW)
καταλαλιαί/backbitings/slanders – literally “talking down” at someone
This is what the false apostles in Corinth had been doing against Paul.
The only other place in the Bible this noun appears is 1 Peter 2:1-2 “Therefore after you have displaced all wickedness and deceptiveness and hypocrisies and rivalries and all trash-talks, like newborn babies y'all must start cultivating desire for the non-deceptive milk of the word, in order that y'all might be caused to grow in salvation by means of it…” (NAW)
According to 1 Peter 2, the opposite of “trash-talking” against your rivals is loving the Bible and its good news about Jesus.
ψιθυρισμοί - onomatopoeia that literally means “whisperings” (psitheris, psitheris) and by extension, “gossip.”
The only other place in the Greek New Testament this word occurs is in Romans 1:29-30, where it is listed alongside other character traits of men who “ignore God” and have been given over to a “debased mind.” “...they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud10, boasters, inventors of evil…” (NKJV) And all such are “deserving of the righteous judgment of God.”
φυσιώσεις/swellings/conceits/arrogance/haughtinesses
Paul spoke to this over and over again in 1 Corinthians, using the verb form of this noun, which the older English versions translated as “being puffed up”:
1 Corinthians 4:6 “...learn this from us: not to be above the things which have been written, in order that it not be [this] one over [that] one, lest y'all continue to be puffed up against the other.” (NAW, cf. Col. 2:8 )
1 Corinthians 8:1 “...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (NAW)
1 Cor. 13:4 “...Love does not envy. It does not boast. It is not puffed up.” (NAW)
The opposite of an inflated view of self is God’s unselfish love.
ἀκαταστασίαι/tumults/disturbances/disorder/instability
This noun appears 5 other times in the Greek Bible, including:
Prov. 26:28 “...an unguarded mouth causes tumults.” (Brenton),
It is associated with “war” and with “insurrections” that lead to “imprisonment” in Luke 21:9 and 2 Corinthians 6:5.
And, as was mentioned a moment ago, James 3:16 explains that such “loss of stability” is a result of “jealousy and selfish-ambition.”
That’s why Paul exhorted the church in the fourteenth chapter of First Corinthians to fight against social chaos in the church by following careful standards of self-discipline and orderliness in church services, concluding in 1 Corinthians 14:33 “For He is not the God of instability but rather of peace, so it should be in all the churches of the saints.” (NAW)
Zooming back out of the detailed study of the eight sins which Paul is afraid11 he will continue to see among the church in Corinth if he visits soon, let us consider whether we are ready, not just for a visit from an apostle, but for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s attitude towards the church in Corinth is a reflection of Christ’s attitude toward us.
The second and third chapters of the book of Revelation make it clear that Jesus thinks in a similar way about all of His churches: He sees sins of various types in different church congregations, and He wants us to overcome them. He doesn’t want to return and find us infighting and dis-unified and proud and hyper-critical. He doesn’t want to find us wallowing in sin and chasing after distractions and loving other gods besides Him.
Only by repenting of sin, pressing into closer relationship with Him, filling ourselves with His word, and drawing upon the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit can we grow in edification towards being the faithful, loving, pure church that He wants to see when he returns.
Ephesians 4:11-15 gives a picture of what Christ Jesus is looking for: “...He Himself gave the apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers toward the equipment of the saints to the work of service, to the construction of the body of Christ, until we – all of us – arrive into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, into being a mature man, into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In order that we might no longer be infants, tossed back-and-forth and carried about in every wind of teaching in the cunning of men in craftiness toward the deceit of straying, but by being truthful in love we might grow all things into Him, who is the head: Christ…” (NAW) How do we measure up to that? Are we ready for Christ to return and see how we’re doing in this process? What do we need to work on?
Now, after listing in v.20 what sorts of things Paul doesn’t want to see in the church at Corinth when he returns, verse 21 goes on to describe what sort of state the Corinthians would not want to see Paul in during his visit – namely, one in which he was feeling devastated over their sin and having to exercise church discipline12 upon unrepentant sinners.
Paul expands on the list of besetting sins in the Corinthian church beyond the unloving interpersonal rivalries of verse 20 to sins of a sexual nature in verse 21 – the sorts of things that would make a man “unclean” in the ceremonial law, using the Greek word porne, as well as another Greek word (aselge) that goes beyond that to denote the “removal of all restraint” – indulging in all kinds of sexual immorality.
One example was the young man who was sexually abusing his mother in 1 Corinthians 513, and then there was all the prostitution – both heterosexual and homosexual – going on in Corinth that Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 6.14
These kind of sins cannot be ignored and allowed to continue in the church.
If Paul comes back and finds that that church folk are still continuing15 in this kind of sin and not repenting of it and forsaking it, he’s going to have to do something drastic.
The actions that Paul would have to take if he were to return and find the church in Corinth still wallowing in their old sins would set the example for what they (and any Christian) should do about sin:
“Humbling” yourself before God and “mourning” over your sin and “repenting” from that sin (so that you stop doing it) is what God calls sinners to do.
James 4:8-10 describes the same pattern: “Start drawing near to God, and He will draw near to y'all. Sinners, start purifying hands, and double-minded ones, start sanctifying hearts! Start feeling the weight of it and mourning and weeping. Let your laughter be changed into mourning and your joy into sadness. Let yourselves be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (NAW)
It would be no fun for Paul to humble himself and mourn over the Corinthians’ sin, and he’s hoping he won’t have to16, but he will do it, if that’s what it takes to edify the church in Corinth and get them to stop practicing those sins.
This is not to control the church but to “build them up” so that they will be in a right relationship with Jesus.
He has already stated in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that Jesus is coming to judge mankind: “For it is necessary for all of us to be made to appear before the Anointed One's judgment-bench, in order that each might receive-sentencing for himself for the things which he performed through his body, whether good or bad.” (NAW)
And we know that the stakes will be high on Judgment Day. Revelation 21:8 tells us that “...the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (NKJV)
It was for this reason that Paul calls Christians to repentance now, before it’s too late.
So here’s our recipe for building up the church:
v.17 View the church as those you love and give of yourself to, not as a pool of resources to exploit.
v.18 Associate yourself with people of integrity who walk in the Spirit and follow in Jesus’ steps, and pursue closeness with God which will bring you closer to everyone else who loves God.
v.19 Remember that Jesus is your final judge as well as the one who will ultimately declare you to be righteous. This will free you from the impossible bondage of trying to get people to like you.
v.20 Link arms with your brothers and sisters in Christ to fight against continuing sins like strife, envy, rage, slander, gossip, swelling pride, and sexual immorality.
And v.21 Humble yourself, mourn over sin, and put it to death (Colossians 3:5 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” ~NKJV, cf. 1 Pet. 4:1-3), and you will be ready for Christ’s return!
ByzantineB |
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NASB’95F |
NIV’84G |
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RheimsI |
MurdockJ |
CopticK |
17 μηL τιναM ὧνN ἀπέσταλκαO πρὸς ὑμᾶς, δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐπλεονέκτησα ὑμᾶς, |
17 There wasn’t anyone among those whom I have commissioned to y’all through whom I took advantage of y’all, was there? |
17
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17
X |
17
Certainly
I |
17
X |
17
X |
17
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17
X Was it by |
17
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18 παρεκάλεσα Τίτον καὶ συναπέστειλαR τὸνS ἀδελφόν· μήτιT ἐπλεονέκτησεν ὑμᾶς Τίτος, οὐU τῷV αὐτῷ πνεύματιW περιεπατήσαμεν, οὐ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἴχνεσιX, |
18 I urged Titus, and I co-commissioned the brother. Titus didn’t take advantage of y’all, did he? Wasn’t it in the same spirit that we conducted ourselves? Was it not in the same tracks? |
18
I |
18 I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps? |
18 I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps? |
18
I urged Titus [to
go] to you and
I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit
you, did he? Did we
not |
18
I urged Titus [to
go], and sent
the brother with him. Did Titus take
advantage of you? Did we
not |
18
I desiredY
Titus: and I sent with him |
18
I requested
Titus, and with him I sent the breth |
18 I besought Titos, and I sent the [otherB] brother with him. Did Titos wrong/ defraud you [at all]? Walked we not in the same spirit? Are [theyB] not XB/inS the same stepsB/ roadsS? |
19 ΠάλινZ δοκεῖτε ὅτι ὑμῖν ἀπολογούμεθα, κατενώπιονAA τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ΧριστῷAB λαλοῦμεν· τὰ δὲ πάντα, ἀγαπητοί, ὑπὲρ τῆς ὑμῶνAC οἰκοδομῆς. |
19 Furthermore, are y’all supposing that it is to you that we are defending ourselves? It is before the presence of God in Christ that we are speaking, and all things, beloved, are for the sake of y’all’s edification. |
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. |
19 Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. |
19
All
this time you |
19
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19
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19 Of old, think you that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ: but all things, my dearly beloved, for your edification. |
19 Do ye again suppose, that we [would] apologize to you? Before God, in the Messiah we speak: and all [these] things, [my] beloved, are for the sake of your edification. |
19 AgainB/perhapsS, ye think that we answerB/ make defense toS you. Before God we speak in Christ. But [we are doingS] all things, my beloved, for your edifying. |
20 φοβοῦμαι γὰρ μή πωςAD ἐλθὼνAE οὐχAF οἵους θέλω εὕρω ὑμᾶς, κἀγὼ εὑρεθῶ ὑμῖν οἷον οὐ θέλετε, μή πως ἔριςAG, ζῆλοιAH, θυμοί, ἐριθείαι, καταλαλιαίAI, ψιθυρισμοίAJ, φυσιώσειςAK, ἀκαταστασίαιAL, |
20 For I fear lest, once I come, I might find y’all not such as I want, and I myself might be found by y’all such as y’all don’t want, lest there be strifes, jealousies, ragings, selfish-ambitions, trash-talks, whisperings, haughtinesses, [and] instabilities - |
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For I fear, lest,
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For I fear lest,
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For I am afraid that
perhaps
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For I am afraid |
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For I fear that
perhaps
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For I fear lest
perhaps,
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20
For I fear, lest
I should come to you [and]
not find you such
as I would
wish, and lest I also should be
found by you, such
as ye would
not wish,
lest there
should be contention,
[and]
envying, [and]
angerX,
[and]
obstinac |
20 ButB/ForS I fear lest by any means, should I come, {I mayB/X X [and]S} find you as I wish not, and [I also, thatB] ye find me as ye wish not, lest by any means there is strifeB/sS or jealousyB/iesS [or] angerXB/sS [or] factionXB/sS or slanderingXB/sS [or] whisperingXB/sS or tumultXB/exaltations of heartS [or] prideXB/ tumultsS, |
21 AOμὴ πάλιν ἐλθόνταAP με ταπεινώσῃAQ ὁ Θεός μου πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ πενθήσω πολλοὺς τῶν προημαρτηκότωνAR καὶ μὴ μετανοησάντων ἐπὶ τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καὶ πορνείᾳ καὶ ἀσελγείᾳ ᾗ ἔπραξαν. |
21 lest again at my coming, God will humble me before y’all and I shall mourn over many who have already been sinning and who did not repent over their uncleanness and sexual immorality and lack of restraint which they practiced. |
21
And
lest, when I come again, my God will humble me |
21
lest, when I come again, my God will humble me |
21
[I am afraid
that] X
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, X
immorality
and sensuality
which they
|
21
[I am afraid
that] X
when I come again my God will humble me
before you, and I
will be grieved over many who
have sinned earlier
and |
21
[I fear that]
X when I come
again my God may humble me before you, and I
may [have
to]
mourn
over many of those who sinned earlier
and |
21
Lest again, when I come, God humble
me amongAS
you: and I
X
mourn many of them that sinned
before
and have not |
21
lest X, when I
come |
21
lest again should I come { |
1“Therefore, I decided it was necessary to urge the brothers so that they might go ahead to y'all so they might prepare in advance for this previously-promised blessing of yours to be ready thus as a blessing and not as a confiscation.” (NAW)
22 Cor. 7:6 “But God – the One who comforts those who are low – comforted us by the presence of Titus...” 8:16 “Now thanks be to God Who is supplying the same diligence concerning yourselves in the heart of Titus.” (NAW)
31 Cor. 4:3-4 “Now, as for me, it amounts to very little that I was judged under you or under a human court-appointment – I don't even judge myself! ... the one who judges me is the Lord.” (NAW)
42 Cor. 1:23 “...I did not yet come to Corinth, because I was going easy on y’all…” (NAW)
5It’s singular in some Greek manuscripts (and in 1 Cor. 3:3), but plural in most manuscripts (and some of those with the plural form are among the oldest-dated manuscripts). 1 Cor. 1:11 confirms (without variation among the Greek manuscripts) that a plurality of such strifes did exist.
6κοίταις (coitus), a synonym to πορνείᾳ in 2 Cor. 12:21.
7κενόδοξοι, literally “glorifiers of vanity.”
8φθονοῦντες, a synonym to ζῆλοι in 2 Cor. 12:20.
9This list, in turn, may have come from Jesus (Matt. 15:22).
10ὑπερηφάνους, literally “those who appear above,” a synonym to φυσίωσις in 2 Cor. 12:20.
11Cf. Gal. 4:11, where Paul states his “fear” regarding another local church.
12Cf. 2 Corinthians 13:2 “...now being away, I am writing to those who have sinned before, as well as to all the rest, that whenever I come for the follow-up I will not spare.” (NAW)
131 Cor. 5:1 & 9 “Immorality is totally being heard-of among y'all – and such immorality as is not even among the nations – such as a man to have his father's wife! ...I wrote to y'all in the letter not to mix together with immoral-persons...” (NAW)
141 Cor. 6:9, 15, 18 “Or have y'all not known that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the immoral, nor idol worshipers, nor adulterers, nor gays, nor homosexuals... 15 Haven't y'all known that your bodies are members of Christ? Taking up the members of Christ, shall I therefore make members of a prostitute? Let it never be! … 18 Be fleeing from sexual immorality, every sin which a man might do is outside his body, but the one who is sexually immoral continues to sin into his own body.” (NAW)
15The Greek perfect tense of this verb indicates continuation in the sin started earlier, and the Aorist tense of “repent” indicates that at no time did they ever repent.
162 Corinthians 2:1 “So I decided this within myself: not to come again to y'all with grief (λύπῃ).” (NAW)
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I
put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my
opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek
word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text,
I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the
reader see correlations between the various editions and versions
when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. As published by E-Sword in 2016. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, UBS, and Tregelles editions, however, are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era, focusing on the few manuscripts which are older than the Byzantine manuscripts. Even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.
CNAW is my translation.
D1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible, public domain. As published by E-Sword in 2019.
ENew King James Version, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. As published by E-sword in 2016.
FScripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. As published by E-sword in 2016.
GScripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
HScripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. As published by E-sword in 2009.
IRheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword in 2016.
JJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org, and published on E-Sword in 2023.
KThis is my conflation of the English translations of the Northern Bohairic and Southern Sahidic traditions published by Oxford Clarendon Press in 1905 and 1920 respectively, neither of which named the translator or editor. The beginnings and ends of multiple-word variants are marked out with brackets, with a superscript “S” for Sahidic or “B” for Bohairic. The editor of the Sahidic compilation did not have manuscripts for some verses and I have not discovered a published English translation of the subsequently-discovered manuscripts, so variants in that section for that tradition are not listed.
LThis mood of the negative anticipates a negative answer. “No, it is not the case that you have sent anyone to exploit us.” Strangely, every English version except the NASB and NET Bible deleted this negative.
MThis indefinite pronoun is accusative case, so it is the object of the verb “I sent,” not the object of the genitive preposition “through.” Phillip Hughes commented, “The tina is to be explained as an accusative of respect: ‘With respect to any one of those whom I have sent to you, did I outwit you through him for gain?’”
NGenitive masculine plural relative pronoun (not participle). The understood verb-of-being is rendered “did” instead of “being” in most English versions.
ORV, NASB, and NET are correct in translating this verb in the Perfect tense (“I have sent”), which is properly prior in sequence to the Aorist verb “I took advantage.”
PThe Vulgate numquid (“surely not?”) seems to be a pretty close translation to the actual Greek.
QThe Aramaic ܥܠܝܟܘܢ could be more properly interpreted “to” as Lamsa did, but there isn’t actually a preposition in the Greek here.
RThere is some question as to the timing of these verbs “I sent… I co-commissioned.” Some suggest it is an epistolary aorist referring to the current impending mission of Titus and the two companions (one of whom is not in view), others (such as Hughes) believe that it refers to the previous mission of Titus that brought him to Corinth earlier, from which he returned to Paul and is awaiting the completion of 2 Cor. before Paul sends him out again (this time with two companions). And others (such as Allo) suggest that this means Titus and co. have already been sent on the follow-up mission referenced earlier in 2 Cor. I find Hughes’ position convincing.
SRobertson suggested in his Grammar and in his Word Pictures that this “brother” is Titus’ sibling, making the definite article here pronominal (“his brother”).
TOnce again, this mood of the negative expects a negative answer. “No, Titus didn’t take advantage of us last time he was with us.”
UThe mood of the negative shifts here to one which expects a positive answer. “Yes, you had the same character.”
VRobertson suggested in his Word Pictures that this is a locative dative (“in the same Spirit”) since the next clause is clearly locative (“in the same tracks”), and most English versions translated it that way, although the 19th century RV briefly experimented with making it instrumental (“by the same spirit”).
WHughes argued that “spirit” refers to “character” rather than to the “Holy Spirit,” (and so did the Anchor Bible commentary, the Harper New Testament Commentary, The International Critical Commentary, and Lenski, Kistemaker, and Martin in their commentaries) but most of the other commentators I read (Chrysostom, Calvin, Henry, Robertson, G. Wilson) connected this pneumati with the Holy Spirit (as did Bauer’s Lexicon, Louw & Nida’s lexicon, the NLT, and the Revised English Bible).
XPlural dative neuter. Found often in the LXX (sometimes referring to the “soles” of feet and sometimes referring to the “tracks/footprints/tread marks” left by feet), but in the GNT only here and Rom. 4:12 and 1 Pet. 2:21 – all in a figurative sense.
YThe Vulgate rogavi means “asked,” like the Greek verb, not “desired/willed/wished,” as per the Rheims version.
ZThis is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being Bezae from the 6th century, although it is also in the margin of the 4th century Sinaiticus, and is supported by the 3rd-5th century Syriac and Coptic versions), thus it is the reading of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT. However, a dozen Greek manuscripts (including the 4 oldest-known ones, supported by the Vulgate) read with the last two letters different (παλαι), changing the meaning from “again/and/or” to “anciently/of old” (a change which does not comport with the present tense verb it modifies. English versions make up for this anomaly by changing the tense of the verb from present to Perfect (“you [have been thinking]” – calling it a “progressive present” [ATR]) and changing the word from “of old” to “all along/all this time” (or to “perhaps” as the NLT did), but if that were the meaning, a different Greek word would have been employed. Although Geneva & KJV translated it into English as “again” (L&N semantic domain #67.55), I suggest that this is a conjunctive use “and/but/furthermore” (L&N#89.97). Note that all textual traditions are agreed on the “not again” which opens v.12.
AAThis is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being Bezae from the 6th century), and thus is the reading of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT. However, 14 Greek manuscripts (including the 4 oldest-known ones) read with the synonym κατέναντι (“before the front of” instead of “before the sight of”) and drop the next Greek word in the traditional text, which is the definite article “the” before God (probably for euphonic reasons so that the repeated tau’s wouldn’t sound like stuttering – a change which makes no difference in meaning since the author believes in only one God). English versions (with the exception of NET) switch their characteristic preferences for and against the Textus Receptus, the KJV following the critical reading “before” and the ASV/NASB, RV/ESV, and NIV following the traditional Byzantine reading “in the sight of” (for, of course, it wouldn’t do for them to have the same reading as the KJV)! But the meaning is so close that it’s impossible to tell whether the ancient versions supported one over the other. Perhaps this reflects a change in vocabulary preferences for prepositions over the centuries.
ABGeneva & KJV preserve the Greek word order (for example, “before God in Christ we are speaking” – properly emphasizing that it is “in Christ” that we come into the presence of God), while the NET, ASV/NASB and RV/ESV rearranged the sequence of the words (for example “before God we are speaking in Christ,” as though the emphasis were on the speech being “in Christ,” which isn’t the case in the original Greek), and the NIV and NLT not only rearrange the words but also add a preposition of their own (for instance: “before God we are speaking as those who are in Christ” – as though the emphasis were on the content of the apostles’ speech being like that of other Christians).
ACTurner’s Grammar notes that this “your” is in an emphatic position.
ADThis phrase appears 12 times in the GNT (twice in this verse and once in Rom. 11:21, 1 Cor. 8:9, 9:27, 2 Cor. 2:7, 9:4, 11:3, Gal. 2:2, 4:11 and 1 Thess. 3:5) and nowhere in the LXX. The earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts don’t have spaces between words, so when spaces between words were introduced centuries later, editors were divided over whether or not to put a space between these two particles. In all 12 instances, the Greek Orthodox, Textus Receptus, and Tischendorf GNT editions inserted a space, but Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, UBS, and Tregelles editions put no space between them. It makes no difference in meaning, however.
AEAorist participles like this do not indicate contemporary time (“when I come” – which is the rendering of all the standard English versions) but previous time (“after I come”).
AFThe particle here negates the plural comparative pronoun “such” (as the Vulgate and ASV/NASB and RV/ESV do). It would be spelled differently (μη) if it were negating the subjunctive verb “might find” (the Peshitta, Geneva, KJV, and NIV and NET are inaccurate in this respect. Although Robertson asserted that oux went with the subjunctive heurw, he still translated it as negating the “such as”!). (It would be possible, but irregular, to refer the negative to the indicative “I wish” two words later, as the Coptic versions did.)
AGThe majority of Greek manuscripts (including the 4th century Vaticanus, and 6th century Beza, supported by the ancient Vulgate and Sahidic versions, followed by the Textus Receptus, St. Spiridon Greek Orthodox, and Tregelles GNT editions) read as a plural with an extra epsilon in the ending: ερεις. However, this Patriarchal Greek Orthodox edition (and most modern critical editions) follow 24 Greek manuscripts (including the 3rd century P46, 4th Century Sinaiticus, and 5th century Alexandrinus, supported by the ancient Peshitta and Bohairic versions) which read as a singular. The meaning is not much different.
AHThis plural is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being Sinaiticus from the 4th century, supported by the 4th century Vulgate and Coptic Bohairic versions), and thus is the reading of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT. However, 8 Greek manuscripts (including 3 of the 4 oldest-known ones, supported by the ancient Syriac and Sahidic versions) read singular ζηλος. It doesn’t make that much of a difference in meaning.
AIRare noun in the Greek Bible found only here and in 1 Peter 2:1 (and also in the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon 1:11). The verb form is slightly more common, occurring in Num. 12:8, Ps. 100:5 (English versions Psalm 101:5), Prov. 20:13, Job 19:3, Mic. 3:7, Rom. 1:30, Jas. 4:11, and 1 Pet. 1:12 & 3:16.
AJRare noun found only here and Eccl. 10:11 “If a serpent bite when there is no [charmer’s] whisper, then there is no advantage to the charmer.” (Brenton) Other forms of this Greek word, however, are found in 2 Sam. 12:19 (servants whispering), Sir. 5:14, 21:28, 28:13 (which puts it in parallel with “double-tongued”), Psalm 41:7 “All those who have hatred toward me whisper together against me, they think up evil against me.” (NAW, cf. synonym in Prov. 16:28), Ps. Sol. 12:1-4, and Rom. 1:29.
AKHapex legomenon, but the verb form (“puffed up”) is found in 1 Cor. 4:6, 8:1, and 13:4, as well as Col. 2:8.
ALThis noun only appears 5 other times in the Greek Bible: Prov. 26:28b (“...an unguarded mouth causes tumults.” ~Brenton), it is associated with “war” in Luke 21:9, 1 Cor. 14:33 “For He is not the God of instability but rather of peace; so it [the rules of self discipline and order Paul outlines in this passage for conducting a worship service] should be in all the churches of the saints.” (NAW), 2 Cor. 6:5 (“insurrections” which led to Paul’s “imprisonments”), and James 3:16 (“for, where jealousy and selfish-ambition are, there will be instability and every evil matter.” ~NAW)
AMPlural in the Greek and in some manuscripts of the Khabouris Peshitta, but singular in the Leiden Peshitta and in other manuscripts of the Khabouris.
ANPlural in the Greek and in some manuscripts of the Khabouris Peshitta, but singular in the Leiden Peshitta and in other manuscripts of the Khabouris.
AOCuriously, most English Bibles since the mid 20th century add a phrase at the beginning of this verse which is not in any Greek manuscript nor is it in any of the ancient versions: “I am afraid,” and they omit the negative particle (“lest”) that is in all the Greek manuscripts and ancient versions.
APThis accusative absolute form is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest being the 6th century Bezae, although it is supported by a correction in the 4th century Sinaiticus), whereas six Greek manuscripts (including the four oldest-known) spell it as a genitive absolute. It makes no difference in meaning, as attested by the fact that all the English versions render it the same way “when I come.” The only difference is in whether the author chose the accusative or the genitive case to set off this participle with a different subject “I” from the next verb which has the subject “God.”
AQThis Aorist subjunctive spelling is found in 21 Greek manuscripts (the oldest being the 4th century Sinaiticus and 5th century Alexandrinus), and these are supported by the subjunctive spellings of the ancient Vulgate and Coptic versions (Syriac doesn’t have a subjunctive mood that is spelled differently from the future, so it is indeterminate.) So the subjunctive spelling “may/might humble” is found in the Greek Orthodox, Textus Receptus, Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, & UBS editions of the Greek New Testament. But the majority of Greek manuscripts (including the two oldest-known from the 3rd and 4th centuries) spell it Future Indicative (ταπεινώσει). The Tischendorf and Tregelles GNT editions surprisingly followed the majority text. It is worth noting that the next verb in parallel with this one in this verse is Aorist Subjunctive (“and I shall mourn”), but since all events in the future are uncertain, the subjunctive mood is often used to express that uncertainty about the future, such that New Testament authors frequently interchange future tense verbs with subjunctive verbs, and the meaning is not really different.
ARThe only other occurrence of this compound form of this verb is in 13:2 speaking of same subject.
ASThe Vulgate reads apud (“near” or possibly “among”), but isn’t quite the same as the Greek word pros (which should have been translated into Latin as ante, pro, or prae).
ATThe Peshitta moves the phrase “before you” to an earlier point in the verse.