2 Corinthians 12:16 Commentary and Bible Study

Paul is aware that for his enemies, there are no holds barred. They will take advantage of his absence to accuse him of anything that will lower his standing in the eyes of the Corinthians. The words in this verse originate with his enemies who would have expressed it differently and said, ‘He did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, he caught you with guile.’ But Paul takes up their words and reports what they said about him, in order to defend himself against their false accusations. ‘Be it so’: even if it is true that Paul did not burden the Corinthians – and it was impossible for the Judaizers to charge him with this, since it was so obvious to all that he had worked to support himself; even if they could not charge him with that, they would find other charges. He may not have taken anything personally, but, they claimed, he sent his fellow workers to the Corinthians who did accept support, and so in a round about way he sponged off the Corinthians, possibly having money passed back to him by his helpers – this is the new charge. It is to the shame of the Judaizers that Paul needs to defend himself from such allegations.