Titus 3:12
in Titus 3As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, give diligence to come unto me to Nicopolis: for there I have determined to winter.
KJV
When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.
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This verse in Titus 3
Commentary
12 notes on this verseWhen you come, please hurry to me in Nicopolis, Artemas or Tychicus. I have decided to spend the winter there. In the beginning of this letter we read, "The reason I left you in Crete was to straighten out what was left unfinished and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you." So that after Paul's departure, the Cretans, who had recently believed and were not left as orphans, but had an apostolic man who would correct what appeared to be lacking.
This site's exposition
When I shall send Artemas
on Titus 3:12-14
The letter closes on practical business: when Paul sends Artemas or Tychicus to relieve him, Titus is to come to Nicopolis, where Paul has determined to winter, the same seasonal urgency behind Paul's request for the cloke and books at 2 Timothy 4:13. Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, the eloquent Alexandrian of Acts 18 and 1 Corinthians, are to be brought on their way diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them, the church's ordinary work of hosting and provisioning its traveling teachers. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful gives the letter's refrain its final beat, good works aimed now at real, practical need rather than left as an abstraction.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Ver. 12. "When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus; be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis." What sayest thou? After having appointed him to preside over Crete, dost thou again summon him to thyself? It was not to withdraw him from that occupation, but to discipline him the more for it. For that he does not call him to attend upon him, as if he took him everywhere with him as his follower, appears from what he adds: "For I have determined there to winter." Now Nicopolis is a city of Thrace.
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make haste to come to me at Nicopolis; for I have decided to spend the winter there. make haste to come to me. Why indeed, having established Titus in Crete, does Paul call him back to himself …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Then, he writes of personal matters, at when I shall send to you: first, about taking care of certain matters affecting him; second, he closes with a greeting. He says, therefore, when I shall send to you Artemas or Tychicus. These were two of the …
Why does the apostle, having entrusted Titus with such a large island, summon him back again, pulling him away from his duties? It is for his own benefit, so as to better set him on course for the work, having discussed how he carried out …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus,.... These were both of them ministers of the Gospel; there is no mention of Artemas anywhere else; some say he was one of the seventy disciples, and that he was afterwards bishop of Lystra; but these are uncertain things; See Gill on Luk 10:1; the name is a contraction of Artemidorus.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Come to me to Nicopolis - Very probably not the Nicopolis in Macedonia, as the vulgar subscription asserts: (indeed, none of those subscriptions at the end of St. Paul's epistles are of any authority:) rather it was a town of the same name which lay upon the sea-coast of Epirus.
This was to be done, not as a piece of common civility only, but of Christian piety, out of respect both to them and the work they were sent about, which probably was to preach the gospel, or to be in some way serviceable to the churches. Zenas is styled the lawyer, whether in reference to the Roman or the Mosaic law, as having some time been his profession, is doubtful.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
When I shall send Artemas - or Tychicus - These were either deacons or presbyters, which the apostle intended to send to Crete, to supply the place of Titus. Who Artemas was we know not; he is not mentioned in any other place in the New Testament. Tychicus was a native of Asia, as we learn from Act 20:4 (note). Be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis - Nicopolis was a city of Epirus, on the gulf of Ambracia, near to Actium, which Augustus built in commemoration of his victory over Mark Antony.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Artemas or Tychicus--to supply thy place in Crete. Artemas is said to have been subsequently bishop of Lystra. Tychicus was sent twice by Paul from Rome to Lesser Asia in his first imprisonment (which shows how well qualified he was to become Titus' successor in Crete);
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When I shall send Artemas unto thee - This person is not elsewhere mentioned in the New Testament, and nothing more is known of him. Or Tychicus - Notes, Act 20:4. Be diligent - Notes, 2Ti 4:9. “To come unto me to Nicopolis.” It was at this place, probably, that this epistle was written. In regard to its situation, see Introduction, Section 4. For I have determined there to winter - Why Paul designed to spend the winter there, or what he purposed to do there, are questions on which no light can now be thrown. There is no evidence that he organized a church there, though it may be presumed that he preached the gospel, and that he did not do it without success. His requesting Titus to leave his important post and to come to him, looks as if his aid were needed in the work of the ministry there, and as if Paul supposed there was a promising field of labor there.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ὅταν | hotan | When | G3752 → | |
| πέμψω | pempso | I may send | G3992 → | |
| Ἀρτεμᾶν | arteman | Artemas | G734 → | |
| πρὸς | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| σὲ | se | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | |
| Τύχικον, | tuchikon | Tychicus, | G5190 → | |
| σπούδασον | spoudason | do be diligent | G4704 → | |
| ἐλθεῖν | elthein | to come | G2064 → | |
| πρός | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| με | me | me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | |
| Νικόπολιν· | nikopolin | Nicopolis; | G3533 → | |
| ἐκεῖ | ekei | there | G1563 → | |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| κέκρικα | kekrika | I have decided | G2919 → | |
| παραχειμάσαι. | paracheimasai | to winter. | G3914 → |
ὍτανWhen
hotanG3752 →
πέμψωI may send
pempsoG3992 →
ἈρτεμᾶνArtemas
artemanG734 →
πρὸςto
prosG4314 →700 times
σὲyou
seG4771 →2973 times
ἢor
Τύχικον,Tychicus,
tuchikonG5190 →
σπούδασονdo be diligent
spoudasonG4704 →
ἐλθεῖνto come
eltheinG2064 →
πρόςto
prosG4314 →700 times
μεme
meG3165 →1936 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →
Νικόπολιν·Nicopolis;
nikopolinG3533 →
ἐκεῖthere
ekeiG1563 →
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
κέκρικαI have decided
kekrikaG2919 →
παραχειμάσαι.to winter.
paracheimasaiG3914 →
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
Acts 20:4Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:21
Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 19:29
Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
- 2 Timothy 4:20
Erastus has remained at Corinth, and Trophimus I left sick in Miletus.
- 2 Timothy 4:12
Tychicus, however, I have sent to Ephesus.
- Acts 21:29
For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
- Ephesians 6:21
Through
2 Timothy 4:9Make every effort to come to me quickly,
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:4
Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.
- 2 Timothy 4:21
Make every effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
- 2 Timothy 1:4
Through
2 Timothy 4:21Make every effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:9
Make every effort to come to me quickly,
- 2 Timothy 4:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Titus

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- Person1st century ADArtemasOne of two men Paul considered sending to Crete so Titus could winter with him at Nicopolis (Titus 3:12).
- Person1st century ADTychicusBeloved brother and faithful minister, Paul's letter-carrier for Ephesians and Colossians (Eph 6:21-22; Col 4:7-8), sent again in…
- PlaceEpirus, western GreeceNicopolisCity on Greece's western coast where Paul determined to winter and summoned Titus (Titus 3:12).
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Titus; John Chrysostom, Homily on Titus 6; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, COMMENTARY ON TITUS; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Titus and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Titus.
