2:1 when I came to you. Paul must be referring to his first visit to Corinth, recorded in Acts 18:1–17 (Introduction: Date and Occasion).

with lofty speech or wisdom. Influenced by Greek culture, some of the Christians in Corinth may have been critical of Paul for not using the rhetorical techniques of their contemporaries (2 Cor. 11:5, 6). See notes 4:1, 8–13; 9:3, 19; 10:30; 16:3.