Did I take advantage of you by anyone of those whom I have sent to you?
Parallel Translations
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Did I take advantage of you by anyone of those whom I have sent to you?
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Did I pill you by eny of the which I sent vnto you?
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Did I pill you by any of them whom I sent vnto you?
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 12:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Kings 5:16 But he said, “As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” He urged him to take it; but he refused.
- 2 Kings 5:20-27 But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him, and take something from him.” So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” He said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ” Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” He urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants; and they carried them before him. When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stored them in the house. Then he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you come from, Gehazi?” He said, “Your servant went nowhere.” He said to him, “Didn’t my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your offspring forever.” He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.
- 1 Corinthians 4:17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly.
- 1 Corinthians 16:10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear, for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.
- 2 Corinthians 9:5 I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brothers that they would go before to you and arrange ahead of time the generous gift that you promised before, that the same might be ready as a matter of generosity, and not of greediness.
- 2 Corinthians 12:18 I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit? Didn’t we walk in the same steps?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 17 Did I make a gain of you by…
17 Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?
Ver. 17. Whom I sent unto you] It is said of the pope, that he can never lack money so long as he can hold a pen in his hand; he can command it and have it. But St Paul could not skill of those arts.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The apostle, to avoid or wipe off this imputation,…
The apostle, to avoid or wipe off this imputation, appealeth to themselves to name any person (whom he had sent unto them) that had taken any thing of them for his use. He saith, that he desired Titus to come to them: of this desire we read before, 2Co 8:6,16,18,22.
With him (he saith) he sent another brother: this is that brother, of whom he had said, 2Co 8:18, that his praise was in the gospel throughout all the churches. Some guess it was Luke, but there is no certainty of that. He appeals to them, whether either of these made a gain of them? That is, took any thing of them: and whether they did not walk in the same spirit, and
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in the same steps? Whether they did not show the same generosity and freedom? And by their behaviour amongst them did not show, that they did not seek what was theirs, (to be enriched by their estates), but them; to communicate the riches of grace to their souls? The circumstances of God’s providence may be such towards faithful ministers, as that they may be constrained to make use of others to do their work; but such, so near as they can judge, will never make use of any therein, but such as are of
the same spirit with themselves, and walk in the same steps.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Again, think you that we excuse ourselves to you?....…
Again, think you that we excuse ourselves to you?.... The apostle would not have the Corinthians imagine, that by what he had said once and again in this epistle, he meant to excuse himself from coming to them, for he really and sincerely intended it; or that by this long defence of himself against the false apostles, he designed so much an apology for himself, or that he used any feigned words, or artful methods, to exculpate himself from any charge against him, particularly that of covetousness just mentioned; for he had no view to cover himself by studied apologies, and set orations, and evade anything exhibited against him, and make himself look innocent when guilty; it was not with any such intention he had dwelt so long on this subject:
we speak before God in Christ; in all sincerity and uprightness of soul, without colour, guile, or deceit, calling God and Christ to witness the truth of what was said; the apostle spoke all he did, as in the presence of the omniscient God; and as one in Christ, and a preacher of his Gospel, that would not deliver an untruth knowingly, for the whole world:
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but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edification; it was not for himself so much, for his own credit, reputation, and glory, he did what he did; had this been the case, he would not have said the half part of what he had; but it was for their sake, out of love to them, that they might be built up and established in the faith of the Gospel, and not be carried away with the error of the wicked.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain I answer this lying accusation by appealing to plain…
I answer this lying accusation by appealing to plain fact. Did I make a gain of you by Titus - Or any other of my messengers? You know the contrary. It should be carefully observed, that St. Paul does not allow, but absolutely denies, that he had caught them with guile; so that the common plea for guile, which has been often drawn from this text, is utterly without foundation.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. Did I make a gain of you]…
Verse 17. Did I make a gain of you] Did any person I ever sent to preach the Gospel to you, or help you in your Christian course, ever get any thing from you for me? Produce the proof if you can.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Did I make a gain ... - In refuting…
Did I make a gain ... - In refuting this slander, Paul appeals boldly to the facts, and to what they knew. “Same the man,” says he, “who has thus defrauded you under my instructions. If the charge is well-founded, let him be specified, and let the mode in which it was done be distinctly stated.” The phrase “make a gain” (from πλεονεκτέω pleonekteō), means properly to have an advantage; then to take advantage, to seek unlawful gain. Here Paul asks whether he had defrauded them by means of anyone whom he had sent to them.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Paul's reply: You know well I did not. My…
Paul's reply: You know well I did not. My associates were as distinterested as myself. An important rule to all who would influence others for good.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17. Did I—A confident appeal to their own knowledge,…
17. Did I—A confident appeal to their own knowledge, for he had taken express precaution against this imputation.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. make a gain of you] See ch. 2Co_2:11.
17. make a gain of you] See ch. 2Co_2:11.
by any of them whom I sent unto you] They may have been maintained at the expense of the Churches, but they certainly made no attempt to enrich St Paul by their mission. In their disinterested labours they followed implicitly the example of the great Apostle. Some have thought that there is a reference here to the collection for the poor Christians at Jerusalem, but this can hardly be, for the mission of Titus was simply for the purpose of urging the Corinthians to complete their preparations. St Paul had anticipated all objections as to his making use of that money for his own purposes by arranging (see 1Co_16:3) that it should be sent in the charge of brethren selected by the Corinthian Church itself. See also ch. 2Co_8:19; 2Co_8:21. We must therefore understand the words as an appeal to the conduct of Titus and his companions while at Corinth, and as a refutation of a charge which St Paul thought might possibly be brought, that he had endeavoured in an underhand manner to obtain money from Corinth through them.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17) By any of them whom I sent unto…
(17) By any of them whom I sent unto you?—The English expresses the meaning of the Greek, but does not show, as that does, the vehement agitation which led the writer, as he dictated the letter, to begin the sentence with one construction and finish it with another. Did any of those I sent . . . did I by this means get more out of you than I ought? He has in his mind, as far as we know, Timotheus, who had been sent before the First Epistle (1Co_4:17); Stephanus, Fortunatus and Achaicus, who were the bearers of that Epistle (1Co_16:15); and Titus, who was sent, as we have seen, to learn what its effect had been. Had any of these, he asks, been asking for money on his account?
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Did I make a gain of you, etc.? The…
Did I make a gain of you, etc.? The same verb as in 2Co_2:11. It means" to overreach," "to take unfair advantages."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 17. Did I make gain by any of the…
17. Did I make gain by any of the messengers or helpers I sent you? Did they demand anything? He then specifies:
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Did I take advantage of you by any one…
Did I take advantage of you by any one of them whom I have sent unto you?
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Paul hopes for an edifying repentance on the part…
Paul hopes for an edifying repentance on the part of the Corinthians:
v. 17. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?
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v. 18. I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? Walked we not in the same spirit? Walked we not in the same steps?
v. 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.
v. 20. For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not; lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults;
v. 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.
Paul meets the suspicions of his enemies with direct questions; for just as he is sure of his own integrity, so he feels that he can vouch for his representatives, knowing that they did not give even the slightest occasion for drawing such conclusions as his enemies were trying to suggest to the Corinthians: Of those whom I sent to you, was there one through whom I took advantage of you? In his agitation the apostle does not regard the grammatical construction, so deeply does the matter affect him. His representatives had been under observation as long as they were in Corinth; let anyone in the congregation now step forward with definite charges. In case some of them might simulate ignorance as to what Paul referred to, lie says openly: I asked Titus to go on this mission, and with him I sent the brother (that accompanied him). They were his emissaries, they acted in his stead. Paul is referring to the mission from which Titus had just returned, bringing his report from the congregation at Corinth. Did Titus take advantage of you? Do we not walk in the same spirit, in the same steps? The same manner of dealing had been found in Titus which also animated Paul, the same Holy Spirit governed their actions and controlled their conduct. But now the Corinthians had recognized the single-mindedness and sincerity of Titus, chap. 7:13, and therefore Paul could construe their good opinion in his favor also, since Titus had carried out his instructions. Paul had nothing to hide, and all his acts and motives were above suspicion.
The apostle can therefore also state the aim of his boasting, namely, to edify them unto repentance. In doing so, he first of all rejects the idea as though he had been writing by way of apology: Are you thinking this long time that we are excusing ourselves to you? That would indeed have been unworthy of an apostle’s dignity, if he had made his authority dependent upon their appreciation. And therefore he tells them that such an idea was far from his intention; on the contrary: In the sight of God we speak in Christ. He has his power and authority from Christ, he is doing the work of his ministry in accordance with instructions from above. For that reason also it is true: But all the things (which we speak and do), beloved, me do for your edifying. That idea wits always foremost in Paul’s mind, how he might do more for their spiritual benefit, how he might advance them in their spiritual life.
But circumstances are tending to make him dubious as to their spiritual condition and welfare: For I fear lest, unfortunately, when I come, I shall find you not such as I would, and that I also shall be found to you such as you would not. He here expresses the affectionate solicitude of a father. He would find them not measuring up to the standard which he has set for them, and they, in turn, might not find him as pleasant as they had anticipated, but rather inclined to indignant severity because of their attitude and because of the unfulfilled promises of their spiritual condition. The meeting promised to be embarrassing and painful for both parties. He mentions eight kinds of evil fruit that usually flourished in such soil as they were preparing for themselves in Corinth and which he dreaded to find: strife, quarreling of every kind; jealousy, every one being full of distrust toward the other; ragings, vehement, passionate rage; party spirit and factions engendered by such spirit; back bitings, maledictions, and evil reports; whisperings, by which the good name of a neighbor was defamed; arrogance, both with regard to gifts and to knowledge; tumults, disorders which would seriously interfere with the work of the Gospel. These fruits could mature where the flesh and the devil still reigned, and indications pointed to the fact that their rule had not yet been broken in Corinth.
What effect that would have on the apostle he frankly tells them: Lest, when I come again, my God should humble me before you. It would truly be a humiliating experience for Paul to see such scanty fruit of his labor in the Gospel. Once before he had undergone this mortification, and he is not anxious to have the unpleasant experience repeated. For he would then be obliged to mourn for many that have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed. It seems that upon the occasion of his previous visit he had called attention to their proneness to sins of the flesh, and had warned them against every form of impurity, of immorality, and sensuality. If to his mourning over them and their refusal to repent there would be added this new grief of seeing other fruits of the flesh take hold in Corinth, the measure of his humility would surely be reached. It is always a matter of grievous, mournful concern to every faithful pastor if open offenders, flagrant sinners, persist in their impenitence, but he will not abandon hope until he has exhausted every means that might lead to their redemption.
Summary
In his boasting, Paul refers to special revelations, and particularly to one extraordinary vision which he had, as well as to the fact that the Lord is keeping him humble by a severe infirmity; he states that their love for him should have urged them to commend him, since his affection for them was genuine; he hopes for an edifying repentance on their part.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.