16. For I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and again on my way back, in order to get help from you for my journey to Judea.
17. In planning this, did I appear fickle? When I make my plans, do I make them from selfish motives, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?
18. As surely as God speaks the truth, my promise to you was not a “Yes” and a “No”.
19. For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you by Silas, Timothy, and myself, is not one who is “Yes” and “No”. On the contrary, he is God's “Yes”;
20. for it is he who is the “Yes” to all God's promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our “Amen” is said to the glory of God.
21. It is God himself who makes us, together with you, sure of our life in union with Christ; it is God himself who has set us apart,
22. who has placed his mark of ownership upon us, and who has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
23. I call God as my witness — he knows my heart! It was in order to spare you that I decided not to go to Corinth.