2 Corinthians 12:16

But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.

2 Corinthians 12:16, King James Version

2 Corinthians 12:16 in other translations

BSB	Be that as it may, I was not a burden to you; but crafty as I am, I caught you by trickery.
WEB	Even so, I myself didn’t burden you. But you might say that being crafty, I caught you with deception.
ASV	But be it so, I did not myself burden you; but, being crafty, I caught you with guile.
YLT	And be it so, I--I did not burden you, but being crafty, with guile I did take you;
DARBY	But be it so. I did not burden you, but being crafty I took you by guile.
BBE	But let it be so, that I was not a trouble to you myself; but (someone may say) being false, I took you with deceit.
Webster	But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.

What does 2 Corinthians 12:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

16. I did not burden you--The "I" in the Greek is emphatic. A possible insinuation of the Corinthians is hereby anticipated and refuted: "But, you may say, granted that I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you (in my net) with guile"; namely, made a gain of you by means of others (1Th 2:3).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 16. But be it so. This is evidently a charge of his enemies; or at least a charge which it might be supposed they would make. Whether they ever in fact made it, or whether the apostle merely anticipates an objection, it is impossible to determine. It is clearly to be regarded as the language of objectors; for,

(1.) it can never be supposed that Paul would state as a serious matter that he had caught them with deceit or fraud.

(2.) He answers it as an objection in the following verse. The meaning is, "We admit that you did not burden us. You did not exact a support from us. But all this was mere trick. You accomplish the same thing in another way. You professed when with us not to seek our property but our souls. But in various ways you contrived to get our money, and to secure your object. You made others the agents for doing this, and sent them among us under various pretexts to gain money from us." It will be remembered that Paul had sent Titus among them to take up the collection for the poor saints in Judea, 2Cor 8:6; and it is not at all improbable that some there had charged Paul with making use of this pretence only to obtain money for his own private use. To guard against this charge was one of the reasons why Paul was so anxious to have some persons appointed by the church to take charge of the contribution. See 1Cor 16:3, 2Cor 8:19, also 2Cor 8:20-21.

Being crafty. Being cunning. That is, by sending persons to obtain money on different pretences.

I caught you with guile. I took you by deceit or fraud. That is, making use of fraud in pretending that the money was for poor and afflicted saints, when in reality it was for my own use. It is impossible that Paul should have ever admitted this of himself; and they greatly pervert the passage who suppose that it applies to him, and then plead that it is right to make use of guile in accomplishing their purposes. Paul never carried his measures by dishonesty, nor did he ever justify fraud. Acts 23:6.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 16 But be it so, I did not burden you - That is: You grant that I did not burden you, that I took nothing from you, but preached to you the Gospel freely; but you say that, Being Crafty, I caught you with guile; i.e. getting from you, by means of others, what I pretended to be unwilling to receive immediately from yourselves. Many persons suppose that the words, being crafty, I caught you with guile, are the words of the apostle and not of his slanderers; and therefore have concluded that it is lawful to use guile, deceit, etc., in order to serve a good and a religious purpose. This doctrine is abominable; and the words are most evidently those of the apostle's detractors, against which he defends his conduct in the two following verses.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

We owe it to good men, to stand up in the defence of their reputation; and we are under special obligations to those from whom we have received benefit, especially spiritual benefit, to own them as instruments in God's hand of good to us. Here is an account of the apostle's behaviour and kind intentions; in which see the character of a faithful minister of the gospel. This was his great aim and design, to do good…

Read the full comment on 2 Corinthians 12:11-21 →

2 Corinthians 12:16 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἔστωestōit should beG1510

δέ,dehowever,G1161

ἐγὼegōI myselfG1473

οὐounotG3756

κατεβάρησαkatebarēsadid burdenG2599

ὑμᾶς·humasyou;G4771

ἀλλ᾽all᾽butG235

ὑπάρχωνhuparchōnbeingG5225

πανοῦργοςpanourgoscraftyG3835

δόλῳdolōby trickeryG1388

ὑμᾶςhumasyouG4771

ἔλαβον.elabonI caught.G2983

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Corinthians 12:16

2 Corinthians 1:12
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
2 Corinthians 7:2
Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.
2 Corinthians 10:2-3
But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2 Corinthians 12:13
For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.
2 Corinthians 11:9-10
And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
1 Thessalonians 2:3
For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
1 Thessalonians 2:5
For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
2 Corinthians 4:2
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
1 Peter 2:3
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

I did not.
13; 11:9,10
being. That is, as my enemies represent.
1:12; 4:2; 7:2; 10:2,3; 1Th 2:3,5; 1Pe 2:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

2 Corinthians 12:15
And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
2 Corinthians 12:16
But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.
2 Corinthians 12:17
Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?

Read all of 2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 12:16 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Mas sea así, yo no os he agravado: sino que, como soy astuto, os he tomado por engaño.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Mais soit! moi, je ne vous ai pas été à charge, mais, étant rusé, je vous ai pris par finesse.
German Elberfelder 1871	Doch es sei so, ich habe euch nicht beschwert; weil ich aber schlau bin, so habe ich euch mit List gefangen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Sed esto: ego vos non gravavi: sed cum essem astutus, dolo vos cepi.