2 Corinthians 1:17 (WEB)

Passage

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?”

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 1:15 In this confidence, I was determined to come first to you, that you might have a second benefit;

2 Corinthians 1:16 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 1:17 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?”

2 Corinthians 1:18 But as God is faithful, our word toward you was not “Yes and no.”

2 Corinthians 1:19 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.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "purpose", "therefore", "thus", "determined", "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.