2 Corinthians 12:17

2Co 12:17. Μή τινα ὧν—διʼ αὐτοῦ) for μὴ διά τινος τούτων, οὕς ἀπέσταλκα. [The good faith of his associates wonderfully assisted Paul.—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 12:17 . μή τινα ὧν κ . τ . λ .: of those whom ( ὧν by attraction for ἐκείνων οὕς ) I have sent, was there one by whom I took advantage of you? The constr. is broken, and the resulting anacoluthon is one of the most striking in St. Paul’s writings ( cf. Rom 8:3 , Gal 1:20 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

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.

(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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

17, 18. By a series of rapid questions (comp. 2Co 6:14-16, 2Co 11:22) he shows how baseless the insinuation is. In his eager refutation of the slander he breaks the construction, and leaves the opening τινα without a verb to govern it.

17. Did I by means of any one of those whom I have sent unto you, take advantage (2Co 2:11, 2Co 12:2; 1Th 4:6) of you, by getting money out of you? The ἀπέσταλκα, as distinct from πέπομφα, implies the sending on a permanent mission.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. μή τινα ὦν ἀπέσταλκα πρὸς ὑμᾶς; In his eagerness he forgets the constr. with which he started, and he leaves τινα without any verb to govern it. ‘Did I, by means of any of those whom I have sent unto you, take advantage of you? Cf. 2:11, 12:2; 1Th 4:6. The verb, as distinct from πέμπω, implies that those sent had a definite mission, and the tense implies that the mission was permanent. Perhaps he originally meant the question to run, ‘Have I ever sent anyone to you through whom you were defrauded?’ This probably means that they ‘got money under false pretences,’ especially in connexion with the Palestine relief fund.*

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.