OET interlinear 2COR 12:16

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἔστω δέ, ἐγὼ οὐ κατεβάρησα ὑμᾶς; ἀλλὰ

˱it˲_let_be but I not burdened_down you_all but

Here, the phrase But let it be so indicates that something is agreed upon or certainly true. Paul could be referring to: (1) what he is about to say about not being a burden to the Corinthians. He means that he and the Corinthians can agree about that. Alternate translation: [But here is what we can agree on: I myself did not burden you. However] (2) what he said in the previous verse about loving the Corinthians, although he may be loved less. He means that even if that is true, he will still not burden the Corinthians. Alternate translation: [Besides all that, I myself did not burden you. However,] or [Even if that has happened, I myself did not burden you. However,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rpronouns

ἐγὼ οὐ κατεβάρησα

I not burdened_down

Here, the word translated myself emphasizes I. Consider using a natural way to emphasize I in your language. Alternate translation: [I indeed did not burden] or [as for me, I did not burden]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐγὼ οὐ κατεβάρησα ὑμᾶς

I not burdened_down you_all

Here Paul speaks of asking for money as if it were a heavy burden that he would have asked the Corinthians to carry for him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or plain language. See how you translated the similar phrase in 12:14. Alternate translation: [I myself did not trouble you] or [I myself did not ask for money and so harass you]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / irony

ἀλλὰ ὑπάρχων πανοῦργος δόλῳ, ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον

but being crafty ˱by˲_deceit you_all ˱I˲_took

Here Paul speaks from the perspective of either the Corinthians of the opponents. They may think or say that Paul was crafty and caught them by deceit. He speaks from their perspective so that he can respond to this claim in the following verses. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a form that clearly expresses that Paul is speaking from another person’s perspective. Alternate translation: [but someone may say that I, being crafty, caught you by deceit] or [but you may think that I caught you by deceit, being crafty]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον

you_all you_all ˱I˲_took

Here Paul speaks of deceiving or tricking the Corinthians as if he were physically grabbing them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. See the similar phrase “takes advantage” in 11:20. Alternate translation: [I took advantage of you] or [I cheated you]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

δόλῳ

˱by˲_deceit

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of deceit, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [by being deceitful]