2 Corinthians 1:17 (ASV)

Passage

When I therefore was thus minded, did I show fickleness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay?

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 1:15 And in this confidence I was minded to come first unto you, that ye might have a second benefit;

2 Corinthians 1:16 and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come unto you, and of you to be set forward on my journey unto Judaea.

2 Corinthians 1:17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I show fickleness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay?

2 Corinthians 1:18 But as God is faithful, our word toward you is not yea and nay.

2 Corinthians 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, [even] by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not yea and nay, but in him is yea.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "purpose", "therefore", "thus", "minded", "show", "fickleness", and "things". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "purpose" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "and by you to pass into Macedonia..." into verse 18's "But as God is faithful our word...", so "purpose" and "therefore" 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 "purpose" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.