2 Corinthians 12:16 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 12:14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

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?

2 Corinthians 12:18 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?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "burden", "nevertheless", "crafty", "caught", and "guile". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "burden" and "nevertheless", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And I will very gladly spend and..." into verse 17's "Did I make a gain of you...", so "burden" and "nevertheless" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "burden" and "nevertheless" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.