📖WEB · 2 Corinthians 1:16
What does 2 Corinthians 1:16 mean?
"and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and to be sent forward by you on my journey to Judea."
— 2 Corinthians 1:16 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
For we write no other things to you, than what you read or even acknowledge, and I hope you will acknowledge to the end;
as also you acknowledged us in part, that we are your boasting, even as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.
In this confidence, I was determined to come first to you, that you might have a second benefit;
and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and to be sent forward by you on my journey to Judea.
When I therefore was thus determined, did I show fickleness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the “Yes, yes” and the “No, no?”
But as God is faithful, our word toward you was not “Yes and no.”
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not “Yes and no,” but in him is “Yes.”
Explanation
This verse comes from a passage where Paul is describing his original travel plans to the Corinthian church. In plain language, he says that he had intended to visit them on his way to Macedonia, then return to them again from Macedonia, and have them help send him on his way to Judea. It is essentially a travel itinerary — Corinth, then Macedonia, then back to Corinth, then on to Judea — showing that Paul had hoped to see the Corinthians twice on this particular journey.
The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth, a congregation he had founded and with whom he had a complicated relationship marked by both deep affection and painful conflict. By the time of writing 2 Corinthians, some in the church had begun to question Paul's integrity, accusing him of being unreliable or even manipulative because he had changed his travel plans. Instead of visiting them as originally promised, Paul had altered his route, and critics in Corinth used this as ammunition to attack his character, suggesting that he said "yes" and "no" in the same breath and could not be trusted.
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.