Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
21. among you ] Or, with some interpreters, in reference to you. The literal translation is to you.
which have sinned already ] Literally, those who have sinned before, i.e. either (1) before their conversion and who did not cast off their evil habits when they became Christians, or (2) those who sinned before the Apostle’s letter came, and who did not pay any attention to his rebukes. The latter seems to fall in best with the tenor of the first Epistle and with ch. 2, 7, and 2Co 10:1-6.
and have not repented ] This makes it clear that, as 1Co 6:12-20 would imply, there were other offenders in the particular sin here mentioned beside the incestuous person. It also appears that the Apostle was willing to forgive such offenders as soon as they had abandoned their sin. For repentance see ch. 2Co 7:9. The literal rendering of his sentence is many of those who have sinned and did not repent. Many commentators have asked, Why many and not all? But they have overlooked the difference of tense in the original. There were many who had sinned, and who, up to the arrival of the second Epistle, had not repented. But it is quite clear that St Paul hoped that his second Epistle would have much influence upon those whom his first Epistle and the visit of Titus had failed to move.
lasciviousness ] The term in the original has reference to the unnatural condition of restless excitement which licentious habits produce in their victim.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me … – Lest I should be compelled to inflict punishment on those whom I suppose to have been converted under my ministry. I had rejoiced in them as true converts: I had counted them as among the fruit of my ministry. Now to be compelled to inflict punishment on them as having no religion would mortify me and humble me. The infliction of punishment on members of the church is a sort of punishment to him who inflicts it as well as to him who is punished. Members of the church should walk uprightly, lest they overwhelm the ministry in shame.
And that I shall bewail many … – If they repented of their sin he could still rejoice in them. If they continued in their sin until he came, it would be to him a source of deep lamentation. It is evident from the word many here that the disorders had prevailed very extensively in the church at Corinth. The word rendered have sinned already means who have sinned before, and the idea is, that they were old offenders, and that they had not yet repented.
The uncleanness – see note, Rom 1:24.
And fornication and lasciviousness … – see the notes on 1Co 5:1; 1Co 6:18. This was the sin to which they were particularly exposed in Corinth, as it was the sin for which that corrupt city was particularly distinguished. See the introduction to the First Epistle. Hence, the frequent cautions in these epistles against it; and hence, it is not to be wondered at that some of those who had become professing Christians had fallen into it. It may be added that it is still the sin to which converts from the corruptions and licentiousness of paganism are particularly exposed.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. Lest, when I come again] And even after all that has been done for you, I fear that when I do come-when I pay you my second visit, my God will humble me-will permit me to be affected with deep sorrow through what I may see among you; as I have been by the buffetings of the apostle of Satan, who has perverted you. Humiliation is repeatedly used for affliction, and here has certainly that meaning.
Have sinned already] . Who have sinned before; who were some of the first offenders, and have not yet repented.
Of the uncleanness, c.] There must have been a total relaxation of discipline, else such abominations could not have been tolerated in the Christian Church. And although what is here spoken could only be the ease of a few yet the many were ill disciplined, else these must have been cast out. On the whole, this Church seems to have been a composition of excellences and defects, of vices and virtues; and should not be quoted as a model for a Christian Church.
1. FROM St. Paul we receive two remarkable sayings of our Lord, which are of infinite value to the welfare and salvation of man; which are properly parts of the Gospel, but are not mentioned by any evangelist. The first is in Ac 20:35: I have showed you, the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE. Every liberal heart feels this in bestowing its bounty; and every poor man, who is obliged to receive help, and whose independency of spirit is still whole in him, feels this too. To the genuine poor, it is more burdensome to receive a kindness, than it is to the generous man who gives it. The second is recorded in the ninth verse of this chapter 2Co 12:9: He said unto me, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE; FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS. Of these two most blessed sayings, St. Paul is the only evangelist. This last is of general application. In all states and conditions of life God’s grace is sufficient for us. If in any case we miscarry, it is because we have not sought God earnestly. Let no man say that he is overcome by sin through want of grace; God’s grace was sufficient for him, but he did not apply for it as did St. Paul, and therefore he did not receive it. Men often lay the issue of their own infidelity to the charge of God, they excuse their commission of sin through their scantiness of grace; whereas the whole is owing to their carelessness, and refusal to be saved in God’s own way; and in this way alone will God save any man, because it is the only effectual way.
2. The apostle must have been brought into a blessed state of subjection to God, when he could say, I take pleasure in infirmities; that is, in afflictions and sufferings of different kinds. Though this language was spoken on earth, we may justly allow, with one, that he learned it in HEAVEN.
3. St. Paul preached the Gospel without being burdensome. In every case the labourer is worthy of his hire. He who labours for the cause of God should be supported by the cause of God; but wo to that man who aggrandizes himself and grows rich by the spoils of the faithful! And to him especially who has made a fortune out of the pence of the poor! In such a man’s heart the love of money must have its throne. As to his professed spirituality, it is nothing; he is a whited sepulchre, and an abomination in the sight of the Lord. If a man will love the world, (and he does love it who makes a fortune by the offerings of the poor,) the love of the Father is not in him.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
From hence it appeareth, that this church of Corinth, though it had many in it, without doubt, who were true and sincere Christians, yet had also many it which were otherwise; yea, many that were scandalous; for such are those mentioned in this verse. Again, the apostles mentioning of
many that had committed uncleanness, fornication, and lasciviousness, and not repented; wheras he had only given order for the excommunication of one incestuous person, 1Co 5:1-13, and in this Epistle, 2Co 2:1-17, had given order for the restoring him upon his repentance; lets us know, that the governors of churches ought to use a great deal of prudence in the administering of church censures. We are also further taught, that nothing more afflicteth a godly person, who hath the charge of the souls of others, than to see them go on in courses of sin without repentance. Whether bewailing, in this verse, implieth proceeding to ecclesiastical censures, (as several interpreters think), I doubt; for as the word doth not necessarily imply it, so his sparing use of that rod, which he could (though absent) have as well used against other unclean persons as one incestuous person; and choosing rather that the sentence should be declared against him by the church in his absence, than by himself when present; inclineth me to think, that by bewailing, here, he only means a Christian, afflictive sense of their miscarriages; whereas his desire was, that he might have a cheerful, comfortable journey to and abode with them. But yet, in the next chapter, he seemeth to threaten something more against some particular offenders.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. my Godhis God,however trying the humiliation that was in store for him.
will humble meTheindicative implies that the supposition will actually be so.The faithful pastor is “humbled” at, and “bewails”the falls of his people, as though they were his own.
sinned alreadybeforemy last coming [BENGEL],that is, before the second visit which he paid, and in which he hadmuch at Corinth to rebuke.
have not repentedshallnot have repented [ALFORD].
uncleannessforexample, of married persons (1Th4:7).
fornicationamong theunmarried.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And lest when I come again,…. Another thing which he feared would be the case when he came again to them, that he himself should be afflicted and distressed, seeing them in a disorderly and dissolute course of life, be obliged to punish them, which would be an humiliation and matter of grief to him:
my God will humble me; instead of rejoicing in the fruit of his labours, that they were not in vain, he signifies that he should have great sorrow of heart; and whereas he had promised himself much pleasure and comfort in visiting them, it would be the reverse; and inasmuch as he had boasted of them to others, he should be ashamed:
and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, or “before”; not before conversion, but before the writing of this or the former epistle; for nothing was more grieving, and occasioned more sorrow and humiliation to the apostle, than the unbecoming walk of professors; and nothing more sensibly affects a faithful minister of the Gospel:
and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication, and lasciviousness, which they have committed. The city of Corinth was famous, or rather infamous, for unclean practices; as fornication, adultery, lasciviousness in words and deeds, and other unnatural lusts; “Corinthian whores” was a common proverb; nor was it proper for persons to go to Corinth, there were so many snares for lust and uncleanness; there were said to be above a thousand prostitutes in the temple of Venus there k; hence the very great impurities and wickedness, which many of the members of this church were guilty of, may be accounted for; some of them had repented, others not, which was the great concern of the apostle: and from hence we may learn, that gracious souls may be suffered to fall into great sins; and that when they are truly brought to repentance, they ought to be restored to communion with the church; but impenitent ones are to be cut off, and remain so, till brought to a due sense of their evils.
k Alex. ab Alex. Genial Dier. l. 4. c. 13. & 5. 15. & 6. 26.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When I come again ( ). Genitive absolute. Paul assumes it as true.
Lest my God humble me ( ). Negative final clause ( and first aorist active subjunctive), going back to in 20. He means a public humiliation as his fear. The conduct of the church had been a real humiliation whether he refers to a previous visit or not.
That have sinned heretofore ( ). Genitive plural of the articular perfect active participle of to emphasize continuance of their sinful state as opposed to (did not repent) in the aorist tense.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Among you [ ] . Better, as Rev., before. In my relation to you.
Shall bewail [] . Lament with a true pastor ‘s sorrow over the sin.
Many [] . With special reference to the unchaste.
Sinned – already [] . Rev., heretofore. Only here and ch. 13 2. The perfect tense denotes the continuance of the sin. Heretofore probably refers to the time before his second visit.
Have not repented [ ] . The only occurrence of the verb in Paul ‘s writings. Metanoia repentance, occurs only three times : Rom 2:4; 2Co 7:9, 10.
Of the uncleanness [ ] . Connect with bewail, not with repent. There are no examples in the New Testament of the phrase metanoein ejpi to repent over, though such occur in the Septuagint. Lasciviousness [] . See on Mr 7:22.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And lest, when I come again,” (me palin elthontos mou) “Lest when I come again,” for he was going a third time, 2Co 12:14; 2Co 13:1.
2) “My God will humble me among you “ (tapeinose me ho theos mou pros humas) “my God may humble me with (among) you all,” because of the scanty fruit of their testimony and because of continuing bickering and carnality, as existed, 1Co 1:10-12; 1Co 3:1-5.
3) “And I shall mourn many which have sinned already “ (kai pentheso pollous ton proemartekoton) and I shall mourn those having previously sinned,” as described 1Co 1:10-11; 1Co 3:1-4; 1Co 4:18-21; 1Co 6:6-8, etc. -note he had learned that some had repented, corrected their wrongs, 2Co 2:6-8.
4) “And have not repented, (kai me metanoesanton) “and who have not repented,” or turned away from their sins,” 2Ti 2:25.
a) “of the uncleanness,” (epi te okatharsia) “over their uncleanness, moral uncleanness, such as 1Co 5:1; Rom 2:21-22.
b) “and fornication,” (kai porneia) and their fornication,” 1Co 5:1-2; 1Co 5:11; 1Co 6:18; 1Co 7:1-2.
c) “and lasciviousness,” (kai aselgeia) “and’ their lewdness;” He feared their proneness to sins of the flesh, 2Co 6:14; 2Co 7:1.
5) “Which they have committed “ (he epraksan) “Which they have repeatedly done, or practiced;” which he had called them to put away, 1Co 6:19-20; 1Co 10:31.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
21. Lest, when I come, my God should humble me His abasement was reckoned to him as a fault. The blame of it he throws back upon the Corinthians, who, when they should have honored his Apostleship, loaded it, on the contrary, with disgrace; for their proficiency (941) would have been the glory and honor of Paul’s Apostleship. When, therefore, they were, instead of this, overrun with many vices, they heaped disgrace upon him to the utmost of their power. He does not, indeed, charge them all with this crime, but only a few, who had impudently despised all his admonitions. The meaning, then, is this: “They think contemptuously of me, because I appear contemptible. Let them, then, give me no occasion of abasement: nay more, let them, on the contrary, laying aside their forwardness, begin to feel shame; and let them, confounded at their iniquities, prostrate themselves on the ground, instead of looking down upon others with disdain.”
In the mean time, he lets us know the disposition of a true and genuine Pastor, when he says that he will look upon the sins of others with grief. And, undoubtedly, the right way of acting is this — that every Christian shall have his Church inclosed within his heart, and be affected with its maladies, as if they were his own, — sympathize with its sorrows, and bewail its sins. We see, how Jeremiah entreats, that there may be given him a fountain of tears, (Jer 9:1,) that he may bewail the calamity of his people. We see, how pious kings and prophets, to whom the government of the people was committed, were touched with similar feelings. It is, indeed, a thing that is common to all the pious, to be grieved in every case in which God is offended, and to bewail the ruin of brethren, and present themselves before God in their room as in a manner guilty, but it is more particularly requisite on the part of Pastors. (942) Farther, Paul here brings forward a second catalogue of vices, which, however, belong to one general head — unchastity.
(941) “ Qu’ils eussent proufite en sainctete de vie;” — “That they had made progress in holiness of life.”
(942) “ Des Pasteurs et Ministres;” — “Of Pastors and Ministers.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) And lest when I come again . . .The words do not imply more than one previous visit (Act. 18:1), but it can scarcely be said that they exclude the supposition of another. (See Note on 2Co. 13:1.)
My God will humble me among you.We lose the force of the Greek verb by not seeing that it reproduces the word which has been so prominent in the Epistle, and which has appeared in 2Co. 7:6, as cast down; in 2Co. 10:1 as base; in 2Co. 11:7 as abasing. There is something almost plaintive in the tone in which the Apostle speaks of the sin of his disciples as the only real humiliation which he has to fear. The readings vary; and one of them may be taken as a question: Will God humble me again? There is, however, it is believed, no adequate ground for altering the text.
That I shall bewail many which have sinned already.Literally, who have sinned beforehand; leaving it uncertain what time is referred to. He may refer to sins before admission into the Church, of which men had never really repented, or to sins before the time of his writing, or before that of his arrival. On the whole, the first interpretation has most to commend it. He has in his thoughts such persons as those described in 1Co. 6:9, and suspects that some of them have not really renounced the sins which he there names. Of the three forms of evil, the first is generic and the two latter more specific; the last probably indicating the darker forms of evil. It is obvious that the words cannot refer to the incestuous offender who had repented (2Co. 2:7), nor to the Church generally in connection with that offence (2Co. 7:9-11). Probably he had in view the party of license, who maintained the indifference of eating things sacrificed to idols, and of fornication, just as, in the previous verse, he had chiefly in view the party of his Judaising opponents.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Humble me In being made to feel the special disgrace of their sexual vices.
Many which have sinned It may be again noticed that St. Paul addresses alternately the better part and the worse part of the Church as being the whole; yet passages like the present indicate that both the parts are meant, and that each is expected to make the proper application.
Bewail Weep. As the disgrace would humble him, so the sin and apostasy would melt him with grief. If they have neither shame nor sorrow, he blushes and weeps for them. Thus far he expresses only the overwhelming effect of their sins upon him. Of penalty he will soon speak to them.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Co 12:21 . The interrogative interpretation (Lachmann, Lcke) is, viewed in itself, compatible not only with the reading (Lachmann), but also with the deliberative subjunctive of the Recepta (Lcke). Comp. Xenophon, Oec . iv. 4 : ; see in general, Hartung, Partikell. II. p. 159 f.; Baeumlein, Partik. p. 203. But the usual non-interrogative explanation, which makes still dependent on , not only makes the passage appear more emphatic (by the three parallels,
), but is also the only interpretation suited to the context, since, in fact, after the apprehension quite definitely expressed in 2Co 12:20 , the negative question, in the case of which a No is to be conceived as the answer (comp. 2Co 12:17-18 ), would be inappropriate.
In compared with the previous there lies a climax as regards the definiteness of the conceptio.
] goes along with . . . (comp. on 2Co 2:1 ), so that Paul reminds them how already at his second visit (comp. 1Co 5:9 ) he had experienced such humiliation. Connected merely with (Beza, Grotius, Flatt, de Wette, Wieseler, and many others), it would be without important bearin.
. ] a construction also of frequent occurrence in classical writers. Comp. on 2Co 9:14 , and see Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 270 [E. T. 315].
, not of bodily (Hofmann), but of mental bending, as in dejection. Comp. Polyb. iii. 116. 8, iv. 80. 3. “Nihil erat, quo magis exultaret apostolus, quam prospero suae praedicationis successu (comp. 1Th 2:20 ; Phi 4:1 ); contra nihil erat, unde tristiore et demissiore animo redderetur, quam quum cerneret, se frustra laborasse,” Beza. Comp. Chrysostcm. The future (see the critical remarks), which expresses the apprehension that the sad case of this humiliation will withal actually still occur (see on Col 2:8 ), stands in a climactic relation to the previous subjunctives; the apprehension increases .
] as Rom 1:8 ; 1Co 1:4 . In the humbling experiences of his office Paul sees paedagogic decrees of his Go.
] not among you , for how superfluous that would be! but: in reference to you , in my relation to you. So also Rckert, who, however (comp. Chrysostom, Osiander, and several), explains of Paul’s seeing himself compelled “to appear before them not with the joyful pride of a father over his good children, but with the punitive earnestness of a judge.” But the punitive earnestness of the judge is in fact no , but an act of the apostolic authority, and only follows subsequently, after the has taken place by the observation of the punishment-deserving state , which has made him feel that his efforts have been without resul.
], On ., comp. Herodian, iii. 14. 8 : . According to Rckert, Paul has written thus inexactly, instead of . . How arbitrary! In that case he would have expressed himself with downright inaccuracy. Lcke, l.c. p. 20, explains it more ingeniously: “Cogitavit rem ita, ut primum poneret Christianorum ex ethnicis potissimum genus universum, cujus generis homines essent ubique ecclesiarum, deinde vero ex isto hominum genere multos eos, qui Corinthi essent, designaret definiretque.” But the reference to the unconverted sinners, who ubique ecclesiarum essent , is quite foreign to the context, since Paul had simply to do with the Corinthians (comp. previously ), and hence these could not seek the genus of the . . . here meant elsewhere than just in their own church . The right interpretation results undoubtedly from the order of the thoughts specified at 2Co 12:20 , according to which . . . cannot belong to . (comp. Lucian, de salt 84: ), as it is usually taken, but only to : and that I will lament [388] many of those, who have previously sinned and shall not have repented, on account of the uncleanness , etc. Thus Paul passes over from the sinful states named in 2Co 12:20 to quite another category of sins, and the course of thought accordingly is: “I fear that I shall not only meet with contentions , etc., among you, but that I shall have also to bewail many of the then still unconverted sinners among you on account of the sins of impurity which they have committed (Eph 4:30 ; Heb 13:17 ).” Not all in Corinth were impure sinners, but Paul fears that he will encounter many of them as such; hence he could not write at all otherwise than: . [389] This explanation is adopted by Winer, p. 590 [E. T. 792], Bisping, and Kling.
The perfect participle . denotes the continuance of the condition from earlier times; and has the sense of the futurum exactum: and who shall not have repented at my arrival. The in . expresses the sinning that had taken place in earlier times , which Lcke (comp. Olshausen) refers to the time before conversion (comp. the passages of Justin, Apolog. 1:61; Clement, Strom. iv. 12 in Lcke, p. 18 f.). But as the evils adduced in 2Co 12:20 only set in after the conversion, we are not warranted (see the plan of the passage specified at 2Co 12:20 ) to assume for the sins named in 2Co 12:21 the time before conversion, as, indeed, 1Co 5:1 also points to the time after conversion. But if we ask how far Paul with his looks back into the past of the Corinthians that had elapsed since their conversion, it might, if we regard 2Co 12:20-21 by themselves , appear as if he referred not further back than to that time, in which the contentions (2Co 12:20 ) and the sins of impurity censured in 1Co 5:1 (2Co 12:21 ) emerged. But as this happened only after his second visit, and as he says in 2Co 13:2 that he had foretold (comp. 2Co 2:1 ) punishment to the already at his second visit, it follows that with his he glances back from the present to the time before his second visit. After his first visit there had already emerged in Corinth evils, which humbled him at his second visit (2Co 12:21 ), and on account of which he at that time threatened (see on 2Co 13:2 ) these with punishment; after his second presence there had now broken out, in addition, the contentions and sins of impurity which we know from his Epistles; and to all this, consequently to the whole time till after his first and before his second visit, he looks back, inasmuch as he says not merely , but Consequently Billroth is wrong in restricting the word merely to those “ whom I already, through my second sojourn among you, know as sinners ;” and Estius says too indefinitely, and also quite arbitrarily, as regards , not starting from the present time: ante scriptam priorem epistolam , while many others, like Rckert, do not enter on the question at al.
. . .] if connected with , would be in respect or on account of . But, apart from the fact that (which, we may add, Paul has only here) is in the N. T. never connected with (as Joe 2:13 ; Amo 7:3 , LXX.), but with (Act 8:22 ; Heb 6:1 ) or (Rev 2:21 f., Rev 16:11 ), in this particular case the necessary and correct connection (see previously on . . . . .) is with , the ground of which it specifies: o2Co 12: Just so Aeschin. p. 84, 14; Plut. Agis , 17; Rev 18:11 ; 1Sa 15:35 ; Ezr 10:6 , al. , here of licentious impurity, Rom 1:24 ; Gal 5:19 ; Eph 4:19 . Then: , fornication in specie. Lastly: , licentious wantonness and abandonment (Rom 13:13 ; Gal 5:19 ; Eph 4:19 ; Wis 14:26 ).
] have practised . Comp. on Rom 1:32 .
[388] is taken by Theophylact and others, including Billroth, Rckert, Olshausen, and de Wette, as a threatening of punishment ; and Grotius even thought that the apostles may have discharged their penal office not without signs of mourning, “ sicut Romani civem damnaturi sumebant pullam togam .” But the whole reference of the word to punishment is in the highest degree arbitrary, and at variance with the context. For it is only at 2Co 13:1 ff. that the threat of punishment follows; and the , with which is connected, warrants us only to retain for the latter the pure literal meaning lugere aliquem , which is very current in classical writers (Hom. Il . xix. 225, xxiii. 283; Herod. vii. 220; Xen. Hell . ii. 2. 3) and in the LXX. (Gen 37:34 ; Gen 50:3 , al .; Sir 51:19 ; Jdt 16:24 ). The word does not at all mean to prepare sorrow , as Vater and Olshausen explain it. Calvin therefore is right in leaving the idea of punishment out of account, and aptly remarks: “Veri et germani pastoris affectum nobis exprimit, quum luctu aliorum peccata se prosequuturum dicit.” Estius, too, rejects any reference to punishment, and finds in that Paul regards those concerned as Deo mortuos . Comp. Ewald. Under the latter view too much is found in the word, since the context does not speak of spiritual death, but specifies the ground of the mourning by . . . Hence we must adhere to Calvin’s exposition as not going beyond either the meaning of the word or the context. Calovius also says very correctly (in opposition to Grotius): “Non de poena hic Corinthiorum impoenitentium, sed de moerore suo super impoenitentia.” De Wette, followed by Osiander, finds in . the pain of being obliged to proceed with the special punishment of excommunication , and explains . . . . . . of the worst among the unconverted sinners guilty of unchastity. In that case the chief points of the meaning must be mentally supplied, for which there is the less warrant, seeing that is parallel to the . ., expressing subjectively that which is denoted by . . . . objectively .
[389] The objections of de Wette against my explanation will not bear examination. For (1) from the fact that Paul, in order to express his alarm and anxiety regarding the unchaste , mentions withal the category of sinners in general , there does not arise the appearance as if he would not have to mourn over the latter; but out of the collective wickedness in Corinth he singles out the unchastity which was prevalent there as specially grievous. This species of sinners appears under the genus of Corinthian sinners as one of the two chief stains on the church (the other was the party-spirit, ver. 20). Further, (2) the in 2Co 13:2 are not any more than here a species , but likewise the category , to which the kinds denoted in vv. 20 and 21 belonged. (3) The connection of . . . with is not unnatural, but natural, since . . ., taken together , is the object of ., so that Paul has observed the sequence which is simplest of all and most usual ( verb object ground ). The objections of Osiander and Hofmann are not more valid. Those of the latter especially amount in the long run to subtleties, for which there is no ground. For Paul certainly fears that he will have to lament the non-repentance of the persons concerned, and the sins which they are still committing at the time . This is clearly enough contained in ; and as to , Paul very naturally writes the aorist, and not , because he transplants himself, as in ., to the point of time when he arrives and will then judge what they have done up to that time. He might also have written , but would thereby have deviated from the conformity of his conception of time introduced with . . . (which is that of the futurum exactum ), for which he had no occasion. It is incorrect, with Hofmann, to say that refers to the time when Paul was writing this , and that, because there was still space for them to repent up to the time of his arrival, he has not spoken generally of the impenitent, but of many (who, namely, would remain hardened). According to the context, can only apply to the time of his impending , when he will have to lament many of the old and still at that time non-repentant sinners, on account of their impurity, etc.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
REFLECTIONS
READER! let us pause and contemplate the highly favored state of the Lord’s faithful servant, thus admitted to visions and revelations of God. No doubt, the very recollection warmed his soul in all the after stages of life. Paul felt the blessedness of them, and, like Peter, well knew, to his soul’s joy, that he had not followed cunningly devised fables, when was made known unto him the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but was an eye-witness of his majesty. Reader! though the manifestations the Lord Jesus now makes to his people are not so splendid, for they are not now so necessary for confirmation to the Church, yet are they equally sure for the private consolation of every child of God. When God the Holy Ghost in regeneration, calls his redeemed from the Adam – darkness of nature to the light of life in Christ, not unfrequently, his manifestations are so sweet and gracious, that their remembrance becomes a comfort, through all the after parts of life. Yea, many a child of God in a dying hour, like Jacob in recollection of his Bethel, and Moses of his Bush, hath found the cold, clammy sweat of death unable to destroy the warm fervor of the precious remembrance! Oh! for grace for the soul to live in the enjoyment of Christ; and, sure I am, Christ himself will be the enjoyment of the soul in death!
Reader! do not overlook the personal interest which every child of God hath in the Lord Jesus’s sweet answer to Paul: My grace is sufficient for thee! Messengers of Satan, thorns in the flesh, infirmities and reproaches, these all belong to the present time-state of the Church. There is a needs-be for them. The Church of God is passing through a wilderness, and cannot get to heaven without them. But Jesus knows them all, permits them all, overrules them all, sanctifies all. And Jesus hath, from all eternity, the very portion of grace to bear up all his members under all, as is exactly suited to all, and will assuredly give it out to each, and to all in the hour of need. Precious Lord Jesus! may I never lose sight of this! my God, my Savior hath the very portion of grace I require for this and that occasion, and I have nothing to do but to ask it from him as oft as that occasion shall require. Amen! My God will then suit His strength to my weakness, and bruise Satan under my feet shortly!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Ver. 21. That have not repented ] Impenitence maketh sin mortal, saith St John, 1Jn 5:16 , or rather immortal, as saith St Paul,Rom 2:5Rom 2:5 . It is not the falling into the water that drowns, but lying in it. God’s people may sink once and again to the bottom, but the third time they rise and recover by repentance.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
21. ] carries on the , but with more precision, dropping the indefinite . The sentence loses much in force and, indeed, becomes inconsistent with the context, if with Lachmann (and Lcke, Conjectanea exeget. i. De W.) it be made interrogative (which it may be grammatically with either reading, or – ), in which case the answer would be negative .
here, as Meyer observes, must belong to the whole . . ., because, having been used without just before, the emphatic situation of as applying to it would be unmeaning: see also the very different way in which it is connected with , ch. 2Co 13:2 .
] ‘Nihil erat quo magis exultaret apostolus, quam prospero su prdicationis successu ( 1Th 2:20 ): contra nihil erat, unde tristiore et demissiore animo redderetur, quam quum cernerct, se frustra laborasse,’ Beza (Meyer). The fut. (ref.) indicates an assumption that the supposed case will really be. That this humbling , and not that of being obliged to punish , is intended, seems evident: the exercise of judicial authority being no humiliation, but the contrary, and humiliation being the natural result of want of success.
expresses the conviction that whatever humiliation God might have in store for him would be a part of His will respecting him.
] among you , as the generality of interpreters: ‘ in regard to you,’ in my relation to you , as Meyer. Either may be meant: but if we take the former, we must not join it, as Grot., al., with : it belongs at all events to .
] Theophyl. explains, , , : so also al. and Billroth, Rckert, Olsh., and De Wette. But punishment seems out of place in this verse, which expresses his fear lest he should be humbled for, and have to lament the case of the impenitent, and then, as he declares ch. 2Co 13:2 , be forced to proceed to discipline; but this point is not yet introduced. I much prefer therefore taking it as Chrys., p. 635, , , . , , , . , , . Similarly Calvin: ‘veri et germani Pastoris affectum nobis exprimit, quum luctu aliorum peccata se prosequuturum dicit. Et sane ita agendum est, ut suam quisque Pastor Ecclesiam animo inclusam gestet, ejus morbis perinde ac suis afficiatur, miseriis condolescat, peccato lugeat.’ So Estius, but perhaps too minutely fixing the meaning of to mourning them as “Deo mortuos:” and Calovius (Meyer): “non de pna hic Corinthiorum impnitentium, sed de mrore suo super impnitentia:” and so likewise Meyer.
. . .] Why ? Why not all? I believe he uses as a mild expression for , and that we must not therefore press too closely the enquiry as to what the genus . is, of which the are the species. Lcke (as above) cited by Meyer, explains “Cogitavit rem ita, ut primum poneret Christianorum ex ethnicis potissimum . . genus universum, cujus generis homines essent ubique ecclesiarum, deinde vero ex isto hominum genere multos eos qui Corinthi essent, designaret definiretque.” But this seems travelling quite out of the way. Meyer explains the genus to be all the sinners spoken of in 2Co 12:20 , the species ( ) those designated by ., ., and . But this again is unnatural; and does not accurately fit 2Co 12:20 , in which not so much the as the present state at the Apostle’s coming, is the subject.
The distinction between the two participles, . and , should be observed. As Meyer well remarks, the perf. denotes the permanence of the state from the time of the committal of the sin: Whereas the aor. has the sense of the ‘futurum exactum,’ “and who at my coming shall not have repented.” To what does – refer ? to the time before their conversion? Hardly so: for the sins, of the incestuous person 1Co 5 , and of these also, which would give the Apostle such pain, must be conceived to have been committed in their Christian state : being in fact those against which we find such repeated cautions in 1 Cor., e.g. ch. 1Co 5:11 ; 1Co 6:15 ; 1Co 6:18 ; 1Co 10:8 ; 1Co 15:33-34 . I would therefore understand the – indefinitely , almost pleonastically pointing to the priority of sin implied in the idea of repentance .
. ] Meyer would join together , and indicates this as the natural connexion of verb, object , and ground . But to say nothing of the harshness of , and the almost necessarily reflective form of . . , I conceive the aorist to be fatal to this arrangement. Thus taken, it would make the Apostle lament over these impenitents, on account of the impurity, &c., which they i.e. once practised, but which is now gone by. The sense would require . Whereas if connected with , the aorist expresses ‘and shall not have (repented of the ., &c., which they practised),’ and would thus come rightly after ., implying the removal of the former state of sin.
. is usually constructed with , Act 8:22 ( Heb 6:1 ), or , Rev. only, Rev 2:21 f.; Rev 9:20 f; Rev 16:11 ; but as Paul only uses the word this once, and as the construction with is perfectly legitimate and highly expressive (see reff. LXX), there can be no objection to it here.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Co 12:21 . . . .: lest when I come, my God should humble me again before you, sc. , because of the scanty fruit of his preaching (as had been the case on his second visit), and I should mourn for many (observe, not “all”) that have sinned heretofore, i.e. , before my second visit, and did not repent, i.e. , after my second visit (we thus retain the force of the aorist part; for see on 2Co 7:9 , and for cf. Joe 2:13 , Amo 7:3 ), of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed . There is nothing in the anxiety here expressed which is inconsistent with the language of 2Co 7:9 ff. There he expresses his satisfaction that in the matter of the incestuous person the Corinthians had obeyed his directions; but their proneness to sins of the flesh he is fully alive to. See, e.g. , 2Co 6:14 , 2Co 7:1 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
humble. Greek. tapeinoo. See 2Co 11:7.
among = before. Greek. pros. App-104.
bewail = mourn for.
which = of those who.
sinned already = sinned before. Greek. proarnartano. Only here and 2Co 13:2. Compare App-128.
have. repented = repented. Greek. metanoeo. App-111.
not. Greek. me. App-105.
of = over. Greek. epi. App-104.
lasciviousness. Greek. aselgeia. First occurance: Mar 7:22.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
21.] carries on the , but with more precision, dropping the indefinite . The sentence loses much in force and, indeed, becomes inconsistent with the context, if with Lachmann (and Lcke, Conjectanea exeget. i. De W.) it be made interrogative (which it may be grammatically with either reading, or -), in which case the answer would be negative.
here, as Meyer observes, must belong to the whole . . ., because, having been used without just before, the emphatic situation of as applying to it would be unmeaning: see also the very different way in which it is connected with , ch. 2Co 13:2.
] Nihil erat quo magis exultaret apostolus, quam prospero su prdicationis successu (1Th 2:20): contra nihil erat, unde tristiore et demissiore animo redderetur, quam quum cernerct, se frustra laborasse, Beza (Meyer). The fut. (ref.) indicates an assumption that the supposed case will really be. That this humbling, and not that of being obliged to punish, is intended, seems evident: the exercise of judicial authority being no humiliation, but the contrary, and humiliation being the natural result of want of success.
expresses the conviction that whatever humiliation God might have in store for him would be a part of His will respecting him.
] among you, as the generality of interpreters: in regard to you, in my relation to you, as Meyer. Either may be meant: but if we take the former, we must not join it, as Grot., al., with : it belongs at all events to .
] Theophyl. explains, , , : so also al. and Billroth, Rckert, Olsh., and De Wette. But punishment seems out of place in this verse, which expresses his fear lest he should be humbled for, and have to lament the case of the impenitent,-and then, as he declares ch. 2Co 13:2, be forced to proceed to discipline; but this point is not yet introduced. I much prefer therefore taking it as Chrys., p. 635,- , , . , , , . , , . Similarly Calvin: veri et germani Pastoris affectum nobis exprimit, quum luctu aliorum peccata se prosequuturum dicit. Et sane ita agendum est, ut suam quisque Pastor Ecclesiam animo inclusam gestet, ejus morbis perinde ac suis afficiatur, miseriis condolescat, peccato lugeat. So Estius, but perhaps too minutely fixing the meaning of to mourning them as Deo mortuos: and Calovius (Meyer): non de pna hic Corinthiorum impnitentium, sed de mrore suo super impnitentia: and so likewise Meyer.
. . .] Why ? Why not all? I believe he uses as a mild expression for , and that we must not therefore press too closely the enquiry as to what the genus . is, of which the are the species. Lcke (as above) cited by Meyer, explains-Cogitavit rem ita, ut primum poneret Christianorum ex ethnicis potissimum . . genus universum, cujus generis homines essent ubique ecclesiarum, deinde vero ex isto hominum genere multos eos qui Corinthi essent, designaret definiretque. But this seems travelling quite out of the way. Meyer explains the genus to be all the sinners spoken of in 2Co 12:20, the species () those designated by ., ., and . But this again is unnatural; and does not accurately fit 2Co 12:20, in which not so much the as the present state at the Apostles coming, is the subject.
The distinction between the two participles, . and , should be observed. As Meyer well remarks, the perf. denotes the permanence of the state from the time of the committal of the sin: Whereas the aor. has the sense of the futurum exactum,-and who at my coming shall not have repented. To what does – refer? to the time before their conversion? Hardly so: for the sins, of the incestuous person 1 Corinthians 5, and of these also, which would give the Apostle such pain, must be conceived to have been committed in their Christian state: being in fact those against which we find such repeated cautions in 1 Cor., e.g. ch. 1Co 5:11; 1Co 6:15; 1Co 6:18; 1Co 10:8; 1Co 15:33-34. I would therefore understand the – indefinitely, almost pleonastically-pointing to the priority of sin implied in the idea of repentance.
. ] Meyer would join together , and indicates this as the natural connexion of verb, object, and ground. But to say nothing of the harshness of , and the almost necessarily reflective form of . . ,-I conceive the aorist to be fatal to this arrangement. Thus taken, it would make the Apostle lament over these impenitents, on account of the impurity, &c., which they -i.e. once practised, but which is now gone by. The sense would require . Whereas if connected with , the aorist expresses and shall not have (repented of the ., &c., which they practised), and would thus come rightly after ., implying the removal of the former state of sin.
. is usually constructed with , Act 8:22 (Heb 6:1), or , Rev. only,-Rev 2:21 f.; Rev 9:20 f; Rev 16:11; but as Paul only uses the word this once, and as the construction with is perfectly legitimate and highly expressive (see reff. LXX), there can be no objection to it here.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Co 12:21. , lest again) There is here an Anaphora,[89] lest haply, lest haply, lest [ – -]. And indeed in this verse he speaks with greater severity.-, will humble) A Metonymy [Substitution] of the consequent [for the antecedent].- , my God) He by this expression gives the reason, why he considers acts committed against God, as appertaining to himself.- ) who have sinned before my last coming.-) the uncleanness; for example, of married persons: 1Th 4:7.-, fornication) among the unmarried, , lasciviousness) sins contrary to nature.
[89] See App. The frequent repetition of the same word in beginnings.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Co 12:21
2Co 12:21
lest again when I come my God should humble me before you, and I should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretofore,-Lest by these evils among them, God should humiliate him, and he be forced to mourn for many who had sinned and refused to repent of the evils enumerated.
and repented not of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed.-[Repentance results from sorrow for sin, and leads to reformation of life; there is no difficulty in ascertaining what it is; for the only result of sorrow for sin which leads to reformation is a change of the will in reference to sin. The primary meaning of the Greek word is a change of the mind; and in this sense it is used when it is said that Esau found no place for a change of mind in his father, though he sought it diligently with tears. (Heb 12:17). What he sought was a change in his fathers mind with reference to the blessing already bestowed on Jacob; consequently the word in this instance is translated change of mind. If the change of will designated by the word is not a result of sorrow for sin, but of some considerations of mere expediency, it is not the repentance required; and if it stops short of reformation of life on the part of the penitent, it falls short of the blessings of forgiveness. Repentance, then, fully defined, is a change of will produced by sorrow for sin, leading to a reformation of life, and this is the thing for which Paul was earnestly pleading.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
sinned
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
my God: 2Co 12:7, 2Co 8:24, 2Co 9:3, 2Co 9:4
that I: 2Co 2:1-4, Exo 32:31, Deu 9:15, Deu 9:25, 1Sa 15:35, Ezr 9:3, Ezr 10:1, Psa 119:136, Jer 9:1, Jer 13:17, Luk 9:41, Luk 9:42, Rom 9:2, Phi 3:18, Phi 3:19
sinned: 2Co 13:2
and have not: 2Co 2:5-11, 2Co 7:9-11, 2Co 10:6, 1Co 6:9-11, Rev 22:20
uncleanness: Rom 13:13, 1Co 5:1, 1Co 5:9-11, 1Co 6:15-18, Gal 5:19, Eph 5:5, Eph 5:6, Col 3:5, 1Th 4:3-7, Heb 13:4, 1Pe 4:2, 1Pe 4:3, 2Pe 2:10-14, 2Pe 2:18, Jud 1:7, Jud 1:23, Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15
Reciprocal: Psa 119:53 – horror Psa 119:59 – turned Pro 7:26 – General Jer 13:27 – thine adulteries Eze 9:4 – that sigh Eze 18:24 – and doeth Mat 13:47 – and gathered Mat 22:10 – both Act 15:20 – fornication 1Co 4:21 – shall 1Co 5:2 – mourned 1Co 5:8 – not 1Co 5:11 – fornicator 2Co 2:3 – lest 2Co 7:5 – fears 2Co 7:10 – repentance 2Co 11:3 – I fear 2Co 12:20 – I shall not 2Co 13:10 – I write Gal 4:11 – am Eph 5:3 – fornication Phi 4:19 – God Heb 12:16 – any fornicator 1Jo 3:4 – committeth Rev 2:22 – except Rev 9:20 – yet Rev 9:21 – nor of their fornication Rev 16:9 – and they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Co 12:21. God will humble me. Not that God would blame Paul for the conditions, for he had done his duty in rebuking them for all their wrongs. But the apostle would be humiliated were he to find the Corinthians guilty of these evils, and it would be chiefly because such practices are displeasing to God. To find them active in these evils when he arrived would be disheartening, but it would likewise be saddening to find those previously rebuked still unrepentant of their corruptions. If Paul should find such a state of affairs when he reached Corinth, he could but bewail the condition and feel the need of administering severe chastisement.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Co 12:21. lest, when I come again, my God should humble me before you. So bound up was his comfort in this and all his churches with their spiritual prosperity, that the prospect of finding the church which of all others lay most at his heart in the deplorable condition here described, sickened him at the thought of it, and held out to him only humiliation, in place of delight, in visiting them,and I should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretoforefalling back into those pollutions from which they had been delivered. Since chap. 7 seems to speak a different language, the conjecture that some interval took place between the writing of all that preceded the three last chapters and what we there find, and that disquieting news had in the interval reached the apostle, seems to amount almost to a certainty. See introduction to chap. 10,and repented not of the uncleanness, and fornication, and lasciviousness which they committed. Missionaries who have been the happy instruments of rescuing sensual heathens from such vices as these, but find to their grief the same tendency, after a time, to return upon them, can best enter into the apostles feelings as here expressed, and will be the best expositors of them.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 21 Paul did not want to find such evil since he would be humiliated and forced to weep over those who refused to turn from their evil ways. Repentance would cause them to change their minds and ways. They should no longer be divided into factions which sinfully attacked one another.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
lest again when I come my God should humble me before you, and I should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretofore, and repented not of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed. [Doubtless all the while you have been reading or listening to my words you have been thinking that you are sitting in judgment on my case, and that I have been making my defense before you, anxiously hoping for a favorable verdict. Be not deceived. We can never be judged by you, but are divinely appointed a judge over you (Mat 19:28). My only object is to speak before God in Christ, that is, to acquaint you with the truth as it appears in God’s sight, that you may be instructed and not left in harmful ignorance. For I fear that even yet after all this instruction you may not profit by it, so that when I come I may find you not obedient as I would have you, and that I may be found of you not gentle as you would have me to be. For I expect to find among you the very sins which I have reproved in these epistles, and which were there when I last visited you (2Co 2:1). I will not spare you this time as I did then, but I shall exercise discipline, and therefore I fear that I shall mourn for many whom I shall be compelled to deliver over to Satan (1Co 5:5), because they still impenitently persist in their unchaste sins despite all my reproof.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
CALUMNIATIONS, SECRET MALIGNINGS
How frequently these things so prevail in a church as to bring about alienations, conflicts and terrible apostasies! The one of these words means open slander, which is so pestilential and ruinous among the members of a church, and the other means private gossip creeping round among the people, undermining and utterly ruining spirituality. I have known churches divided up into factions and filled with parties mutually recriminating each other, until they all become a pandemonium. Inflations, i. e., people puffed up with pride, vanity, egotism, self-importance, which are flagrantly incompatible with the humility, meekness and lowliness indispensable in Christian character. Out-fallings. How few large church organizations can we find without cases of this kind? Members partaking the same sacrament and refusing to speak to each other, and of course eating and drinking damnation to their souls. The Corinthian church was very large, mainly Gentiles, but many Jews in it; thus consisting of heterogeneous elements, easily kindled by Satan into a Hellish conflagration if once they only forfeit the equilibrium of sustaining grace and sanctifying power.
21. And I again coming, God shall not humble me before you, and I will weep over many of those who had sinned and not repented over their uncleanness, fornication and lasciviousness which they had practiced. The verb is in the aorist tense, indicating an action complete, recognizing the fact that they had been guilty of these things, but that they were all taken away. Here we have three words indicating different phases of that same dark iniquity which was so prevalent in Corinth, the emporium of prostitution, which was popularized by the worship of Venus, the goddess of love, or more properly sensuality, which was so prominent there that more than a thousand priestesses were connected with her worship and living dissolute lives, thus apologizing for debauchery by the plausibility of religion. This awful state of things, and the fact that evidently very many of his converts were saved from low debauchery and gross sensuality, accounts for the wonderful emphasis laid on this phase of immorality throughout both the epistles.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Moreover he feared that he might suffer humiliation over their failure to repent of the attitude that had embarrassed him on his former painful visit. This situation would cause Paul to mourn over those in the church who had not repented of their former sins. The sins mentioned seem to have been unrelated to Paul’s critics, though the critics may have practiced them as well. Paul’s concern here seems to have been mainly the ungodly conduct that had marked the Christians in Corinth since the founding of their church. [Note: See René A. López, "A Study of Pauline Passages with Vice Lists," Bibliotheca Sacra 168:671 (July-September 2011):301-16.]