2 Corinthians 8:18

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;

Legacy Standard Bible
And we have sent along with him the brother whose praise in the things of the gospel is throughout all the churches.

Simplified Cowboy Version
We are sending a top hand with Titus to help. He's known to all the outfits and is always eager to share the good news while serving in any way he can.

Bible in Basic English
And with him we have sent a brother whose praise in the good news has gone through all the churches;

Darby Translation
but we have sent with him the brother whose praise [is] in the glad tidings through all the assemblies;

Christian Standard Bible®
We have sent with him the brother who is praised throughout the churches for his gospel ministry.

World English Bible
We have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is known through all the assemblies.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise in the gospel is through all the churches: (And not only so,

Weymouth's New Testament
And we send with him the brother whose praises for his earnestness in proclaiming the Good News are heard throughout all the Churches.

King James Version (1611)
And wee haue sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the Gospel, throughout all the Churches.

Literal Translation
But we sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the assemblies,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
We haue sent with him that brother, whose prayse is in the Gospell thorow out all the congregacions.

Mace New Testament (1729)
with whom I have sent one of the brethren, who is not only distinguish'd among all the churches, by his preaching the gospel,

Amplified Bible
And we have sent along with him the brother who is praised in the gospel [ministry] throughout all the churches;

American Standard Version
And we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches;

Revised Standard Version
With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
We haue sent with him that brother whose laude is in the gospell thorow out all the congregacions:

Update Bible Version
And we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel [is spread] through all the churches;

Webster's Bible Translation
And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise [is] in the gospel throughout all the churches;

Young's Literal Translation
and we sent with him the brother, whose praise in the good news [is] through all the assemblies,

New Century Version
We are sending with him the brother who is praised by all the churches because of his service in preaching the Good News.

New English Translation
And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in spreading the gospel.

Berean Standard Bible
Along with Titus, we are sending the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in the gospel.

Contemporary English Version
With Titus we are also sending one of the Lord's followers who is well known in every church for spreading the good news.

Complete Jewish Bible
And with him we are sending the brother whose work for the Good News is praised in all the congregations;

English Standard Version
With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And wee haue sent also with him the brother, whose praise is in the Gospel throughout al the Churches.

George Lamsa Translation
And we have also sent with him our brother, who has received praise throughout all the churches for his preaching of the gospel;

Hebrew Names Version
We have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the Good News is known through all the assemblies.

International Standard Version
With him we have sent the brother who is praised in all the churches for spreading the gospel.in the gospel">[fn]2 Corinthians 12:18;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But we have sent with him our brother, whose praise in the gospel is in all the churches;

Murdock Translation
And we also sent with him that our brother, whose praise in the gospel is in all the churches;

New King James Version
And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches,

New Living Translation
We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News.

New Life Bible
We are sending the Christian brother along. He is respected in the churches for his preaching.

English Revised Version
And we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel [is spread] through all the churches;

New Revised Standard
With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his proclaiming the good news;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Howbeit, we also set forward, with him, the brother, whose praise in the Glad Tidings, hath gone through all the assemblies: -

Douay-Rheims Bible
We have sent also with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel through all the churches.

King James Version
And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches;

Lexham English Bible
And we have sent at the same time with him the brother whose praise in the gospel has become known throughout all the churches.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
We haue sent with hym that brother whose praise is in the Gospel through out all the Churches.

Easy-to-Read Version
We are sending with Titus the brother who is praised by all the churches. He is praised because of his service to the Good News.

New American Standard Bible
We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;

Good News Translation
With him we are sending the brother who is highly respected in all the churches for his work in preaching the gospel.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And we senten with hym a brother, whose preisyng is in the gospel bi alle chirchis.

Contextual Overview

²¹The Offering Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That's what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too. I'm not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians' enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich. So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written, Nothing left over to the one with the most, Nothing lacking to the one with the least. I thank God for giving Titus the same devoted concern for you that I have. He was most considerate of how we felt, but his eagerness to go to you and help out with this relief offering is his own idea. We're sending a companion along with him, someone very popular in the churches for his preaching of the Message. But there's far more to him than popularity. He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can, taking every precaution against scandal. We don't want anyone suspecting us of taking one penny of this money for ourselves. We're being as careful in our reputation with the public as in our reputation with God. That's why we're sending another trusted friend along. He's proved his dependability many times over, and carries on as energetically as the day he started. He's heard much about you, and liked what he's heard—so much so that he can't wait to get there. I don't need to say anything further about Titus. We've been close associates in this work of serving you for a long time. The brothers who travel with him are delegates from churches, a real credit to Christ. Show them what you're made of, the love I've been talking up in the churches. Let them see it for themselves! ²²The Offering Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That's what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too. I'm not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians' enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich. So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written, Nothing left over to the one with the most, Nothing lacking to the one with the least. I thank God for giving Titus the same devoted concern for you that I have. He was most considerate of how we felt, but his eagerness to go to you and help out with this relief offering is his own idea. We're sending a companion along with him, someone very popular in the churches for his preaching of the Message. But there's far more to him than popularity. He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can, taking every precaution against scandal. We don't want anyone suspecting us of taking one penny of this money for ourselves. We're being as careful in our reputation with the public as in our reputation with God. That's why we're sending another trusted friend along. He's proved his dependability many times over, and carries on as energetically as the day he started. He's heard much about you, and liked what he's heard—so much so that he can't wait to get there. ²³I don't need to say anything further about Titus. We've been close associates in this work of serving you for a long time. The brothers who travel with him are delegates from churches, a real credit to Christ. Show them what you're made of, the love I've been talking up in the churches. Let them see it for themselves!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the brother: This is generally supposed to have been Said. Luke, "whose praise was in all the churches," on account of the gospel which he had written, and for many zealous services in its cause. 2 Corinthians 8:19, 2 Corinthians 8:22, 2 Corinthians 8:23, 2 Corinthians 12:18

throughout: Romans 16:4

Reciprocal: 2 Corinthians 8:4 - that Philippians 4:8 - praise

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And we have sent with him the brother,.... The Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, "our brother"; and one of Stephens's copies, "your brother": who this brother was, is not certain; some think it was Luke the evangelist, the companion of the apostle in his travels:

whose praise is in the Gospel, throughout all the churches; being known and highly commended by all the churches, for the Gospel he wrote; but it is not certain that Luke as yet had wrote his Gospel; and much less that it was so much known at present among the churches; and besides, this brother's praise seems to be on account of his preaching the Gospel, and not writing one: others think Barnabas is intended, who was chosen and sent out by the churches along with the apostle; but these in a short time separated from each other, nor do we read of their coming together again: others are of opinion, that Apollos is designed, who was a very eloquent preacher, and of whom the apostle had given the Corinthians an intimation in his former epistle, that he would come to them at a convenient time; but to him is objected, that he never was chosen of the churches, to travel with the apostle on such an account as here mentioned: others would have it that Silas or Silvanus is meant, who was a very constant companion of the apostle, and of whom he makes mention in most of his epistles; and others have made no doubt of it, but John Mark is here meant, who not only wrote a Gospel, but was an excellent preacher of it, and was chosen by the churches to go along with Paul and Barnabas; and though there was some distaste taken to him by Paul, he was afterwards reconciled to him, and for his profitableness in the ministry was greatly desired by him; but after all, it is difficult to determine who it was, nor is it of any great moment: a "brother" he was; being not only a regenerate person, but a preacher of the Gospel; a brother in the ministry, and "one whose praise was in the Gospel"; greatly admired, and much commended, for his excellent talent in preaching the Gospel; and for this he was famous "throughout all the churches"; a very great commendation indeed; but this is not all, it follows,

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And we have sent with him the brother - It has been generally supposed that this anonymous brother was Luke. Some have supposed however that it was Mark, others that it was Silas or Barnabas. It is impossible to determine with certainty who it was; nor is it material to know. Whoever it was, it was some one well known, in whom the church at Corinth could have entire confidence. It is remarkable that though Paul mentions him again 2 Corinthians 12:18, he does it also in the same manner, without specifying his name. The only circumstances that can throw any light on this are:

(1) That Luke was the companion and intimate friend of Paul, and attended him in his travels. From Acts 16:10-11, where Luke uses the term “we,” it appears that he was with Paul when he first went into Macedonia, and from Acts 16:15 it is clear that he went with Paul to Philippi. From Acts 17:1, where Luke alters his style and uses the term “they,” it is evident that he did not accompany Paul and Silas when they went to Thessalonica, but either remained at Philippi or departed to some other place. He did not join them again until they went to Troas on the way to Jerusalem; Acts 20:5. In what manner Luke spent the interval is not known. Macknight supposes that it might have been in multiplying copies of his gospel for the use of the churches. Perhaps also he might have been engaged in preaching, and in services like that in the case before us.

(2) It seems probable that Luke is the person referred to by the phrase “whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches.” This would be more likely to be applied to one who had written a gospel, or a life of the Redeemer that had been extensively circulated, than to any other person. Still it is by no means certain that he is the person here referred to, nor is it of material consequence.

Whose praise - Who is well known and highly esteemed.

Is in the gospel - Either for writing the gospel, or for preaching the gospel. The Greek will bear either construction. In some way he was celebrated for making known the truths of the gospel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. The brother, whose praise is in the Gospel — Who this brother was we cannot tell; some suppose it was St. Luke, who wrote a gospel, and who was the companion of St. Paul in several of his travels; others think it was Silas; others, Barnabas; others, Mark; and others, Apollos. Neither ancients nor moderns agree in either; but Luke, John, and Mark, seem to have the most probable opinions in their favour. Whoever the person was he was sufficiently known to the Corinthians, as we learn by what the apostle says of him in this place.