²³ I call on God as a witness,^(A) on my life, that it was to spare you that I did not come to Corinth.^(B)

2 ¹ In fact, I made up my mind about this:^[a] I would not come to you on another painful visit.^[b]

³ I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident^(A) about all of you that my joy will also be yours.

²⁰ For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and I may not be found by you to be what you want;^[a] there may be quarreling,^(A) jealousy,^(B) outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions,^(C) slander,^(D) gossip, arrogance, and disorder.^{(E) 21} I fear that when I come my God will again^[b] humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented^(F) of the moral impurity, sexual immorality,^(G) and promiscuity^(H) they practiced.

² I gave a warning when I was present the second time, and now I give a warning^(A) while I am absent to those who sinned before and to all the rest: If I come again, I will not be lenient,

¹⁰ This is why I am writing these things while absent, that when I am there I will not use severity, in keeping with the authority the Lord gave me for building up^(A) and not for tearing down.^(B)