But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
Parallel translations
- WEB But as God is faithful, our word toward you was not “Yes and no.”
- BSB But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”
- NKJV But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No.
- NASB But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.
- NLT As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between “Yes” and “No.”
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
As surely as God is faithful, Paul's message to the Corinthians was not a wavering 'yes and no.' His word is reliable because it rests on God's faithfulness.
Overview
Paul grounds the trustworthiness of his ministry in the character of God Himself, who is faithful. The reliability of the messenger is tied to the reliability of the God he serves and the message he proclaims. This pivots from a defense of travel plans to a profound statement about the unwavering truthfulness of the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 1:9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Rev 3:7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
- Rev 3:14And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
- John 7:28Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.
- 2 Cor 11:31The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
- 2 Cor 2:17For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
- John 8:26I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
- 2 Cor 1:23Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
- 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 1:18 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.