2 Corinthians 1:17 (GNV)

Passage

When I therefore was thus minded, did I vse lightnesse? or minde I those thinges which I minde, according to the flesh, that with me should be, Yea, yea, and Nay, nay?

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 1:15 And in this confidence was I minded first to come vnto you, that ye might haue had a double grace,

2 Corinthians 1:16 And to passe by you into Macedonia, and to come againe out of Macedonia vnto you, and to be led foorth towarde Iudea of you.

2 Corinthians 1:17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I vse lightnesse? or minde I those thinges which I minde, according to the flesh, that with me should be, Yea, yea, and Nay, nay?

2 Corinthians 1:18 Yea, God is faithfull, that our worde towarde you was not Yea, and Nay.

2 Corinthians 1:19 For the Sonne of God Iesus Christ, who was preached among you by vs, that is, by me, and Siluanus, and Timotheus, was not Yea, and Nay: but in him it was Yea.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "therefore", "thus", "minded", "lightnesse", "thinges", and "flesh". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And to passe by you into Macedonia..." into verse 18's "Yea God is faithfull that our worde...", so "light" 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 "light" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.