Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. New Living Translation And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile. English Standard Version But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Berean Standard Bible Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. Berean Literal Bible But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised, King James Bible But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: New King James Version Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. New American Standard Bible But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. NASB 1995 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. NASB 1977 But not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Legacy Standard Bible But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Amplified Bible But [all went well, for] not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled [as some had anticipated] to be circumcised, despite the fact that he was a Greek. Christian Standard Bible But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. Holman Christian Standard Bible But not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. American Standard Version But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: Contemporary English Version Titus went to Jerusalem with me. He was a Greek, but still he wasn't forced to be circumcised. English Revised Version But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: GOD'S WORD® Translation Titus was with me, and although he is Greek, no one forced him to be circumcised. Good News Translation My companion Titus, even though he is Greek, was not forced to be circumcised, International Standard Version But not even Titus, who was with me, was forced to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. Majority Standard Bible Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. NET Bible Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. New Heart English Bible But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Webster's Bible Translation But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: Weymouth New Testament But although my companion Titus was a Greek they did not insist upon even his being circumcised. World English Bible But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionbut not even Titus, who [is] with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised— Berean Literal Bible But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised, Young's Literal Translation but not even Titus, who is with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised -- Smith's Literal Translation But neither Titus, with me, being a Greek, was forced to be circumcised: Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleBut neither Titus, who was with me, being a Gentile, was compelled to be circumcised. Catholic Public Domain Version But even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Gentile, was not compelled to be circumcised, New American Bible Moreover, not even Titus, who was with me, although he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised, New Revised Standard Version But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd Titus, also, who was with me, being Syrian, was not compelled to be circumcised, Aramaic Bible in Plain English Even Titus, an Aramaean who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised. NT Translations Anderson New TestamentBut not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Godbey New Testament But neither was Titus the one with me, being a Greek, compelled to be circumcised: Haweis New Testament And even Titus, who was with me, though a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised: Mace New Testament however, Titus who was then with me, being a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised: Weymouth New Testament But although my companion Titus was a Greek they did not insist upon even his being circumcised. Worrell New Testament But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised; Worsley New Testament But even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised; Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Council at Jerusalem…2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain. 3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.… Cross References Acts 15:1-2 Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” / And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. Acts 15:5 But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.” Acts 15:7-11 After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. / And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. / He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith. ... Acts 15:19-20 It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God. / Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. Acts 16:3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Romans 2:25-29 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. / If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? / The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. ... 1 Corinthians 7:18-19 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised. / Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts. Galatians 5:2-6 Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. / Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. / You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ... Galatians 6:12-15 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ. / For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. / But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ... Philippians 3:2-3 Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh! / For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— Colossians 2:11-14 In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands. / And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. / When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, ... Genesis 17:10-14 This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. / You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. / Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring. ... Exodus 12:48-49 If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. / The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.” Leviticus 12:3 And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised. Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more. Treasury of Scripture But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: Galatians 5:2-6 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing… Acts 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: Acts 16:3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. Jump to Previous Although Circumcised Circumcision Companion Compelled Greek Insist Titus UndergoJump to Next Although Circumcised Circumcision Companion Compelled Greek Insist Titus UndergoGalatians 2 1. He shows when he went up again to Jerusalem, and for what purpose;3. and that Titus was not circumcised; 11. and that he resisted Peter, and told him the reason; 14. why he and others, being Jews, believe in Christ to be justified by faith, and not by works; 20. and that they live not in sin, who are so justified. Yet not even Titus The mention of Titus is significant in the context of early Christianity. Titus was a close companion of Paul and a Gentile convert. His presence in this narrative underscores the inclusivity of the Gospel message. The phrase "not even Titus" highlights the tension between Jewish traditions and the new covenant in Christ. Historically, Titus represents the broader mission to the Gentiles, emphasizing that faith in Christ transcends ethnic and cultural boundaries. who was with me was compelled to be circumcised even though he was a Greek In addition to its bearing upon the main argument, there is probably a special reason for this mention of the case of Titus. At the beginning of his second missionary journey, on taking with him his youthful convert Timothy, St. Paul made so much of a concession to Jewish prejudices as to have him circumcised (Acts 16:3). We shall see later that this gave rise to a charge of inconsistency, which the Judaising party in Galatia were not slow to make use of. (See Galatians 5:11, and Notes there.) There was indeed some real inconsistency, but not more than any one who is engaged in the struggles of active life will constantly find himself drawn into. The meeting at Jerusalem was a crisis in the history of the Church. The question of principle was at stake. Concession herein would have been ruinous and fatal, and the Apostle stood firm. On the other hand, the circumcision of Timothy was merely a practical compromise to smooth the way for the preaching of the gospel in new regions. The Apostle was too wise to incur needless opposition, which would bar the way to essential truths on a point which, though in some of its aspects involving principle, was yet in others of quite minor importance. Besides, there is this to be noticed, that whereas Titus was by descent wholly a Gentile, Timothy was, on his mother's side, a Jew. Turning to the phraseology of the passage, we may observe that the opening clause would be better translated, But not even was Titus . . . compelled to be circumcised. "Not even" refers to the prominence which Titus assumed as being associated with St. Paul in his ministry. This was a special reason for insisting upon his circumcision; and yet he was not circumcised. Being a Greek.--Rather, a Gentile. It is observed that the Peshito version translated the word here rendered "Greek" by "Aramaean" or "Syrian." All idea of pure Hellenic descent has dropped out of it. Verse 3. - But (ἀλλ); and yet. "Though I explicitly stated to the leading men in the Church of Jerusalem what I taught respecting the relation of Gentile converts to circumcision and the Mosaic Law, yet in the end they, by their support, enabled us to withstand the pressure which was for a while applied for getting Titus circumcised." Neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised (οὐδὲ Τίτος ὁ σὺν ἐμοί Ἕλλην ω}ν ἠναγκάσθη περιτμηθῆναι); not even was Titus who was with me, being a Greek, compelled to be circumcised. This, St. Paul intimates, was a crucial case. Titus was a Gentile pure; not (like Timothy) having one parent of Jewish extraction and therefore capable of being identified with the Jewish people, but Gentile-born of both parents. The clause, '"who was with me," after ver. 1, was quite unnecessary for mere definition; in fact, it is not added for definition, but to mark the close association with an uncircumcised Gentile which the apostle openly displayed at Jerusalem. He took him with him, we may suppose, when he came before the Church at its public assemblies; when he appeared before the select meeting of the apostles and elders; when he joined the brethren in the agapae and the Lord's Supper - occasions of fraternal communion, in which the presence of a "dog," "an uncircumcised Greek," would be tenfold obnoxious. We cannot, by the way, but marvel at St. Paul's great courage in thus acting. Not only was this paraded fellowship with Titus sure to give deep offence to the vast majority of his Christian brethren, but it might also well expose him to serious personal risks among the highly inflammable populace of the city. At Jerusalem his "soul was among lions." The two clauses, "who was with me, being a Greek," illustrate the "not even." Openly displayed as was Titus's companionship with St. Paul before the eyes of all the Jews, both believers and unbelievers,and Gentile as he was known to be, yet not even in his case was circumcision persistently insisted upon. The aorist tense of ἠναγκάσθη is significant of the ultimate result; it implies that an attempt was made to get Titus to submit to the rite, but failed. We must observe that St. Paul does not write,"I was not compelled to circumcise Titus," but "Titus was not compelled to be circumcised." This appears to make a material difference. By putting it as he has done, the apostle intimates that it was to Titus himself that the pressure was applied. Titus was plied, we may suppose, with theological argument, with appeals to his brotherly sympathies, with appeals to his prudent care for public peace, with threats of social and religious excommunication, and with stern, indignant remonstrance. But sustained, as he all through knew himself to be, by at least St, Paul, if not also by his fellow-deputies, he through it all maintained his firm stand upon his liberty. The "we" of the εἴχαμεν in ver. 5, no doubt, includes at least Titus. The question, however, arises - Who were they that for a while endeavoured to force circumcision upon Titus? The converts from the sect of the Pharisees, mentioned by St. Luke (Acts 15:5), are naturally the first to occur to our minds. But the moulding of the sentence in the next verse discountenances this solution. We cannot help identifying the "false brethren" there spoken of with just those very Pharisean converts - men who had simply thrown the cloak of professed Christian discipleship over the old Pharisean legalism still wholly clung to. But if we suppose this, we cannot imagine that the writer would have said that Titus was not compelled to be circumcised "by reason of those false brethren," if these had been the very persons alluded to as having tried to compel him. It is more probable that the persons alluded to were certain influential members of the Jewish Church, with a strong body, perhaps, of the elders of that Church, having possibly the concurrence even of James and of Cephas. James and the elders, on a later occasion (Acts 21:18-26), urged Paul himself to undertake the performance of certain Mosaical observances, with the view of conciliating the believers of Jerusalem. It is, therefore, quite supposable, at this earlier and as yet immature stage in the development of the practical application of the evangelical doctrine, that Titus was now being dealt with in a somewhat similar manner. But whoever they were that were doing it, it is plain that, in effect, they were working towards the same practical result as the most eager of the Mosaist legalists, only by a different mode of approach. Titus in particular was fastened upon for this assault, apparently because St. Paul had brought him with him as a crucial instance whereupon to try the general question.Parallel Commentaries ... Greek Yetἀλλ’ (all’) Conjunction Strong's 235: But, except, however. Neuter plural of allos; properly, other things, i.e. contrariwise. not even οὐδὲ (oude) Adverb Strong's 3761: Neither, nor, not even, and not. From ou and de; not however, i.e. Neither, nor, not even. Titus, Τίτος (Titos) Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 5103: Of Latin origin but uncertain significance; Titus, a Christian. who [was] ὁ (ho) Article - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. with σὺν (syn) Preposition Strong's 4862: With. A primary preposition denoting union; with or together. me, ἐμοί (emoi) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Singular Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I. was compelled ἠναγκάσθη (ēnankasthē) Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Strong's 315: To force, compel, constrain, urge. From anagke; to necessitate. to be circumcised, περιτμηθῆναι (peritmēthēnai) Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive Strong's 4059: To cut around, circumcise. From peri and the base of tomoteros; to cut around, i.e. to circumcise. [even though] he was ὤν (ōn) Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist. a Greek. Ἕλλην (Hellēn) Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 1672: From Hellas; a Hellen or inhabitant of Hellas; by extension a Greek-speaking person, especially a non-Jew. Links Galatians 2:3 NIVGalatians 2:3 NLT Galatians 2:3 ESV Galatians 2:3 NASB Galatians 2:3 KJV Galatians 2:3 BibleApps.com Galatians 2:3 Biblia Paralela Galatians 2:3 Chinese Bible Galatians 2:3 French Bible Galatians 2:3 Catholic Bible NT Letters: Galatians 2:3 But not even Titus who was (Gal. Ga) |
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