2 Corinthians 12:18
in 2 Corinthians 12I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?
KJV
I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?
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This verse in 2 Corinthians 12
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA rebuke is contained in these words as well. He does not say: I sent, but: I urged, showing that even if Titus took anything, he took it by right, because he came at the request; but he nevertheless remained blameless. Together with him he …
This site's exposition
I was not a burden to you
on 2 Corinthians 12:16-18
Paul voices the charge that his refusal of support hid gain by other means: crafty as I am, I caught you by trickery. He appeals to a record any Corinthian could check: the visit of Titus and the brother sent with him.
This site's exposition
I urged Titus to visit you
Titus had already been among them. Albert Barnes notes that the Corinthians had welcomed him with affection and sent him away with every sign of trust, as 7:7 records.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Wherefore also he proceeds by question, saying, "I exhorted Titus, and with him I sent the brother. Did Titus make a gain of you?" 'walked he not just as I walked.' That is to say, neither did he receive. Seest thou how intense a strictness [is here], in that he not only keeps himself clear of that receiving, but so modulates those also who are sent by him that he may not give so much as a slight pretence to those who were desirous of attacking him. For this is far greater than that which the Patriarch did. For he indeed, when he had returned from his victory, and the king would have given him the spoil, refused to accept aught save what the men had eaten; but this man neither himself enjoyed [from them] his necessary food, nor allowed his partners to partake of such: thus abundantly stopping the mouths of the shameless. Wherefore he makes no assertion, nor does he say that they did not receive either; but what was far more than this, he cites the Corinthians themselves as witnesses that they had received nothing, that he may not seem to be witnessing in his own person, but by their verdict; which course we are accustomed to take in matters fully admitted and about which we are confident. 'For tell me,' he says, 'Did any one of those who were sent by us make unfair gain of you?' He did not say, 'Did any one receive aught from you?' but he calls the things 'unfair gain;' attacking them and shaming them exceedingly, and showing that to receive of an unwilling [giver] is 'unfair gain.' And he said not 'did Titus?' but, "did any?" 'For ye cannot say this either,' he says, 'that such an one certainly did not receive, but another did. No single one of those who came did so.' "I exhorted Titus." This too is severely said. […]
It is obvious that since nothing like this was done by any of Paul's colleagues, the unanimous verdict on him was that he was of good character, with no trace of avarice in him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He excludes their suspicion in particular when he says: I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. As if to say: none of those whom I sent to you overreached you. For I sent Titus to you with entreaties. And this is …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If it should be objected by any that though he did not himself burden them, yet, being crafty, he caught them with guile, that is, he sent those among them who pillaged them, and afterwards he shared with them in the profit: "This was not so," says the apostle;
I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother,.... The apostle proceeds to mention one or two persons that he had sent unto them, and desires to know whether they could charge them with any such practices.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I desired Titus - I never sent any to you but Titus and another brother; 2Co 8:6, 2Co 8:18. And did Titus make a gain of you? Did he get any thing from you, either for himself or for me? You know he did not. He was actuated by the same spirit, and he walked in the same steps.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I desired Titus - To go and complete the collection which you had commenced; see 2Co 8:6. And with him I sent a brother - see note on 2Co 8:18. Did Titus make a gain of you - They knew that he did not. They had received him kindly, treated him with affection, and sent him away with every proof of confidence and respect; see 2Co 7:7. How then could they now pretend that he had defrauded them? Walked we not in the same spirit? - Did not all his actions resemble mine? Was there not the same proof of honesty, sincerity, and love which I have ever manifested? This is a very delicate turn. Paul’s course of life when with them they admitted was free from guile and from any attempt to get money by improper means. They charged him only with attempting it by means of others. He now boldly appeals to them and asks whether Titus and he had not in fact acted in the same manner; and whether they had not alike evinced a spirit free from covetousness and deceit?
The words behind it
19 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| παρεκάλεσα | parekalesa | I urged | G3870 → | 108 times |
| Τίτον | titon | Titus [to go] | G5103 → | 13 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| συναπέστειλα | sunapesteila | sent with [him] | G4882 → | |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀδελφόν· | adelphon | brother; | G80 → | 343 times |
| μήτι | meti | surely not ever | G3385 → | 18 times |
| ἐπλεονέκτησεν | epleonektesen | did exploit | G4122 → | 5 times |
| ὑμᾶς | humas | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| Τίτος; | titos | Titus? | G5103 → | 13 times |
| οὐ | ou | Surely | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| τῷ | to | in the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | same | G846 → | 5565 times |
| πνεύματι | pneumati | spirit | G4151 → | 378 times |
| περιεπατήσαμεν; | periepatesamen | did we walk? | G4043 → | 94 times |
| οὐ | ou | Not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| τοῖς | tois | in the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| αὐτοῖς | autois | same | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἴχνεσιν;¶ | ichnesin | steps? | G2487 → |
παρεκάλεσαI urged
parekalesaG3870 →108 times
ΤίτονTitus [to go]
titonG5103 →13 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
συναπέστειλαsent with [him]
sunapesteilaG4882 →
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἀδελφόν·brother;
adelphonG80 →343 times
μήτιsurely not ever
metiG3385 →18 times
ἐπλεονέκτησενdid exploit
epleonektesenG4122 →5 times
ὑμᾶςyou
humasG4771 →2973 times
Τίτος;Titus?
titosG5103 →13 times
οὐSurely
ouG3756 →1664 times
τῷin the
toG3588 →19766 times
αὐτῷsame
autoG846 →5565 times
πνεύματιspirit
pneumatiG4151 →378 times
περιεπατήσαμεν;did we walk?
periepatesamenG4043 →94 times
οὐNot
ouG3756 →1664 times
τοῖςin the
toisG3588 →19766 times
αὐτοῖςsame
autoisG846 →5565 times
ἴχνεσιν;¶steps?
ichnesinG2487 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 7:6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
- 2 Corinthians 1:3–4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
- 3 John 1:2–4
Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.
- 2 Corinthians 7:13
On account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of Titus. For his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
- Jeremiah 31:13
Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17
Through
2 Corinthians 8:6So we urged Titus to help complete your act of grace, just as he had started it.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 8:16–17
But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.
- 2 Corinthians 8:19
More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the offering—the gracious gift we administer to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.
- 2 Corinthians 8:16–17
Through
Nehemiah 5:14Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth year until his thirty-second year (twelve years total), neither I nor my brothers ate…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 13:6
While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I obtained leave from the…
- Nehemiah 13:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Corinthians
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; John Chrysostom, Homily 28 on 2 Corinthians; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Corinthians.