2 Corinthians 12:17
Did I exploit you by anyone I sent you?
BSB
ASV
Did I take advantage of you by any one of them whom I have sent unto you?
KJV
Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?
Did any of those whom I sent to you take advantage of you?: This is what I mean, that those who were sent did not inform them of this, so that if they wished, they could offer the Apostle a worthy amount in return; for …
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? 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.
If it should be objected by any that though he did not himself burden them, yet, being crafty, he caught them with guile, that is, he sent those among them who pillaged them, and afterwards he shared with them in the profit: "This was not so," says the apostle;
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.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
1 Corinthians 4:17That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach…
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To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am.
Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches.
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:
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2 Corinthians 12:18I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps?
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So we urged Titus to help complete your act of grace, just as he had started it.
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1 Corinthians 16:10If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am.
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Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
