relief of the poor. 8, 19. 20, and no doubt his enemies were ready enough to insinuate that he appropriated the money to his own use. He had therefore occasion to show that he had never made gain of them, that he had defrauded no man.
3. I speak not (this) to condemn (you) : for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with (you).
I speaJc not this to condemii you ; i. e. In defending my- self I do not mean to condemn you. This may mean either, ' In saying that I have wronged no man, I do not intend to imply that you have wronged me ; ' or, 'I do not mean to im- ply that you think of me so unjustly as to suppose that I have wronged, injured or defrauded any one.' In other words, 'I do not mean to question your love.' For. AYhat follows as- signs the reason or proof that he had no unkind feeling towards them which would lead him to condemn them. I said before^ viz., in 6, 12, that ye are in our hearts. That is, that I love you. He had said that his heart was enlarged towards them, which was proof enough that he did not now mean to upbraid them. To die and live loith you^ ck t6 o-waTro^avuv koI o-v^rjv^ so as to die and live together. That is, ' Ye are so rooted in my heart that I would gladly live and die with you,' or, ' so that neither death nor life can separate us.' As remarked above, Paul's love for the Corinthians seems to have been ex- traordinary, having something of the nature of a passion, be- ing more ardent than either their good qualities or their conduct towards him could account for. This is often the case in men of warm and generous feeling, Avho have frequent- ly to say, ' The more abundantly we love, the less we are loved.'
4. Great (is) my boldness of speech toward you, great (is) my glorying of you : I am filled with com- fort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.
So far from having any disposition to upbraid or to re- criminate, his heart was overflowing with far difterent feelings. He had not only confidence in them, he was proud of them ; he was not only comforted, he was filled with exceeding joy.