2 Corinthians 12:18

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?

Legacy Standard Bible
I encouraged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit—in the very same steps?

Simplified Cowboy Version
Did Titus pull a fast one over on you? I know that's not true! He's my pard and we ride the same trail and do things the exact same way.

Bible in Basic English
I gave orders to Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus make any profit out of you? were we not guided by the same Spirit, in the same ways?

Darby Translation
I begged Titus, and sent the brother with [him]: did Titus at all make gain of you? have we not walked in the same spirit? [have we] not in the same steps?

Christian Standard Bible®
I urged Titus to come, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Didn't we walk in the same spirit and in the same footsteps?

World English Bible
I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Didn't we walk in the same spirit? Didn't we walk in the same steps?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? In the same steps?

Weymouth's New Testament
I begged Titus to visit you, and sent our other brother with him. Did Titus gain any selfish advantage over you? Were not he and I guided by one and the same Spirit, and did we not walk in the same steps?

King James Version (1611)
I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother: did Titus make a gaine of you? Walked wee not in the same spirit? walked wee not in the same steps?

Literal Translation
I begged Titus and sent the brother with him . Did Titus overreach you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I desyred Titus, & with him I sent a brother: dyd Titus defraude you? Haue we not walked in one sprete? Wete we not in like fotesteppes?

Mace New Testament (1729)
I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother: did Titus make a gain of you? didn't we follow the same principles, and take the same measures?

Amplified Bible
I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? [No!] Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps? [Of course!]

American Standard Version
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?

Revised Standard Version
I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
I desyred Titus and wt him I sent a brother. Did Titus defraude you of eny thynge? walked we not in one sprete? walked we not in lyke steppes?

Update Bible Version
I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? did we not walk in the same spirit? [did we] not [walk] in the same steps?

Webster's Bible Translation
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?

Young's Literal Translation
I entreated Titus, and did send with [him] the brother; did Titus take advantage of you? in the same spirit did we not walk? -- did we not in the same steps?

New Century Version
I asked Titus to go to you, and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not cheat you, did he? No, you know that Titus and I did the same thing and with the same spirit.

New English Translation
I urged Titus to visit you and I sent our brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way?

Berean Standard Bible
I 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?

Contemporary English Version
I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent another follower with him. But Titus didn't cheat you, and we felt and behaved the same way he did.

Complete Jewish Bible
that I took advantage of you? I urged Titus to go and sent the brother with him; Titus didn't take advantage of you, did he? Didn't we live by the same Spirit and show you the same path?

English Standard Version
I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

Geneva Bible (1587)
I haue desired Titus, and with him I haue sent a brother: did Titus pill you of any thing? walked we not in the selfe same spirit? walked we not in the same steppes?

George Lamsa Translation
I requested Titus to visit you, and I sent brethren with him. Did Titus extort anything from you? Did we not walk in the same spirit, and did we not walk in the same steps?

Hebrew Names Version
I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Didn't we walk in the same spirit? Didn't we walk in the same steps?

International Standard Version
I encouraged Titus to visit you, and I sent along with him the brother you know so well. Titus didn't take advantage of you, did he? We conducted ourselves with the same spirit, didn't we? We took the very same steps, didn't we?2 Corinthians 8:6,16, 18,22;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
18 Of Titos I requested, and sent with him the brethren. [fn] In any thing has Titos made prey of you ? Have we not walked in one spirit, and in the same steps?

Murdock Translation
I requested Titus, and with him I sent the brethren: did Titus pilfer any thing from you? Did we not walk in one spirit, and in the same steps?

New King James Version
I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?

New Living Translation
When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did Titus take advantage of you? No! For we have the same spirit and walk in each other's steps, doing things the same way.

New Life Bible
I asked Titus and the other Christian brother to visit you. Did Titus get anything from you? Did we not do things that showed we had the same desires and followed the same plan?

English Revised Version
I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? walked we not by the same Spirit? [walked we] not in the same steps?

New Revised Standard
I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves with the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
I exhorted Titus, and sent with him the brother, - Did, Titus, overreach you? Was it not, in the same spirit, we walked? Was it not, in the same steps?

Douay-Rheims Bible
I desired Titus: and I sent with him a brother. Did Titus overreach you? Did we not walk with the same spirit? Did we not in the same steps?

King James Version
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?

Lexham English Bible
I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same footsteps?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I desired Titus, and with hym I sent a brother: Dyd Titus defraude you of any thyng? Haue we not walked in the same spirite? not in the same steppes?

Easy-to-Read Version
I asked Titus to go to you, and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not cheat you, did he? No, you know that his actions and his attitude were the same as ours.

New American Standard Bible
I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?

Good News Translation
I begged Titus to go, and I sent the other believer with him. Would you say that Titus took advantage of you? Do not he and I act from the very same motives and behave in the same way?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y preiede Tite, and Y sente with hym a brother. Whether Tite begilide you? whether we yeden not in the same spirit? whether not in the same steppis?

Contextual Overview

¹¹Well, now I've done it! I've made a complete fool of myself by going on like this. But it's not all my fault; you put me up to it. You should have been doing this for me, sticking up for me and commending me instead of making me do it for myself. You know from personal experience that even if I'm a nobody, a nothing, I wasn't second-rate compared to those big-shot apostles you're so taken with. All the signs that mark a true apostle were in evidence while I was with you through both good times and bad: signs of portent, signs of wonder, signs of power. Did you get less of me or of God than any of the other churches? The only thing you got less of was less responsibility for my upkeep. Well, I'm sorry. Forgive me for depriving you. ¹⁴Everything is in readiness now for this, my third visit to you. But don't worry about it; you won't have to put yourselves out. I'll be no more of a bother to you this time than on the other visits. I have no interest in what you have—only in you. Children shouldn't have to look out for their parents; parents look out for the children. I'd be most happy to empty my pockets, even mortgage my life, for your good. So how does it happen that the more I love you, the less I'm loved? ¹⁶And why is it that I keep coming across these whiffs of gossip about how my self-support was a front behind which I worked an elaborate scam? Where's the evidence? Did I cheat or trick you through anyone I sent? I asked Titus to visit, and sent some brothers along. Did they swindle you out of anything? And haven't we always been just as aboveboard, just as honest? ¹⁹ I hope you don't think that all along we've been making our defense before you, the jury. You're not the jury; God is the jury—God revealed in Christ—and we make our case before him. And we've gone to all the trouble of supporting ourselves so that we won't be in the way or get in the way of your growing up. ²⁰I do admit that I have fears that when I come you'll disappoint me and I'll disappoint you, and in frustration with each other everything will fall to pieces—quarrels, jealousy, flaring tempers, taking sides, angry words, vicious rumors, swelled heads, and general bedlam. I don't look forward to a second humiliation by God among you, compounded by hot tears over that crowd that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways, who refuse to turn away from the pigsty of evil, sexual disorder, and indecency in which they wallow.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Titus: 2 Corinthians 2:12, 2 Corinthians 2:13, 2 Corinthians 7:2, 2 Corinthians 7:6

with: 2 Corinthians 8:6, 2 Corinthians 8:18

walked we not in the same spirit: 2 Corinthians 8:6, 2 Corinthians 8:16-23, Philippians 2:19-22

in the same steps: Numbers 16:15, 1 Samuel 12:3, 1 Samuel 12:4, Nehemiah 5:14, Acts 20:33-35, Romans 4:12, 1 Peter 2:21

Reciprocal: 2 Corinthians 8:23 - Titus 2 Corinthians 12:17 - General Colossians 4:8 - I have Titus 1:4 - Titus 2 Peter 2:3 - through

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Genesis 4:10
God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."

Genesis 12:9
Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south, to the Negev.

Genesis 12:10
Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine. As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, "Look. We both know that you're a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you they're going to say, ‘Aha! That's his wife!' and kill me. But they'll let you live. Do me a favor: tell them you're my sister. Because of you, they'll welcome me and let me live."

Genesis 31:26
"What do you mean," said Laban, "by keeping me in the dark and sneaking off, hauling my daughters off like prisoners of war? Why did you run off like a thief in the night? Why didn't you tell me? Why, I would have sent you off with a great celebration—music, timbrels, flutes! But you wouldn't permit me so much as a kiss for my daughters and grandchildren. It was a stupid thing for you to do. If I had a mind to, I could destroy you right now, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, ‘Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad.' I understand. You left because you were homesick. But why did you steal my household gods?"

Genesis 44:15
Joseph accused them: "How can you have done this? You have to know that a man in my position would have discovered this."

Exodus 32:21
Moses said to Aaron, "What on Earth did these people ever do to you that you involved them in this huge sin?"

Joshua 7:19
Joshua spoke to Achan, "My son, give glory to God , the God of Israel. Make your confession to him. Tell me what you did. Don't keep back anything from me."

1 Samuel 14:43
Saul confronted Jonathan. "What did you do? Tell me!" Jonathan said, "I licked a bit of honey off the tip of the staff I was carrying. That's it—and for that I'm to die?"

Proverbs 21:1
Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God ; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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. He had desired, exhorted, and encouraged Titus to go unto them, and collect money from them; but not for either of themselves, but for the poor saints at Jerusalem; and he sent another brother along with him, who is by some supposed to be Luke, to be a companion of him, and an assistant to him; and who was a witness of what he did, and for what purpose he was sent, and how he behaved:

did Titus make a gain of you? did he greedily desire your substance? did he show an avaricious temper, or a covetous inclination after your money? did he by any methods extort it from you? say if Titus, or the brother with him, received anything from you, either on their own, or my account?

walked we not in the same Spirit? in the same Spirit of God, being directed and influenced by him; or in the same disposition of mind, being agreed and determined to preach the Gospel freely, and receive nothing for it:

walked we not in the same steps? took the same methods, lived the same course of life, working with their own hands to supply their wants, rather than be burdensome to others: the apostle suggests, that where are the same Spirit, temper, disposition, and principles, there will be the same works and actions; and as for covetousness, it is neither agreeable to the Spirit of God, nor to the spirit of a Christian.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I desired Titus - To go and complete the collection which you had commenced; see 2 Corinthians 8:6.

And with him I sent a brother - see note on 2 Corinthians 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 2 Corinthians 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?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. I desired Titus — I never sent any to you but Titus and another brother; 2 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 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.