2 Corinthians 12:17

17 I have not taken advantage of you {through anyone whom I sent to you}, [have I]?

2 Corinthians 12:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 12:17

Did I make a gain of you
He appeals to the Corinthians against such calumnies and false insinuations, whether ever he had circumvented them in such a manner, or had ever used such artful methods to pillage them; or whether ever he had discovered any covetous disposition towards anything of theirs; or had employed any persons to draw out their substance from them, and get it for himself: he owns he had sent some persons to them on different errands, and asks if he had dealt fraudulently with them,

by any of them whom,
says he,

I have sent to you:
he desires them to name one single person of the many who came to them from him, that had received any money from them for him; or that they had any reason to believe he had employed for such purposes; and if they could not pitch on a single instance, they ought therefore to look upon this as a downright slander and calumny.

2 Corinthians 12:17 In-Context

15 But I will spend and be expended most gladly for your lives. If I love you much more, am I to be loved less?
16 But let [it] be. I have not been a burden to you, but [because I] was crafty, I took you by cunning.
17 I have not taken advantage of you {through anyone whom I sent to you}, [have I]?
18 I urged Titus [to go], and I sent the brother [with him]. Titus did not take advantage of you, [did he]? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same footsteps?
19 Have you been thinking all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and all [these things], dear friends, [are] for your edification.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "anyone whom I sent to you, through him"
  • [b]. *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.