For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.
Parallel translations
- WEB For I do not wish to see you now in passing, but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.
- BSB For I do not want to see you now only in passing; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.
- NKJV For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.
- NASB For I do not want to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits.
- NLT This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul does not want a passing visit but hopes to stay a while, if the Lord permits. It matters because it shows both his love for them and his submission to God's will.
Overview
Paul desires more than a brief stop; he longs for meaningful time with the Corinthians. Yet he qualifies every plan with 'if the Lord permits,' submitting his intentions to God's sovereign will. This blend of earnest love and humble dependence models how believers should hold their own plans before the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Acts 18:21But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
- 1 Cor 4:19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
- Jas 4:15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
- Rom 1:10Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
- Jer 10:23O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
- 2 Cor 1:15And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
- Prov 19:21There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 16:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.