But because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privately to spy our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into servitude.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
And that--that is, What I did concerning Titus (namely, by not permitting him to be circumcised) was not from contempt of circumcision, but "on account of the false brethren" (Act 15:1, Act 15:24) who, had I yielded to the demand for his being circumcised, would have perverted the case into a proof that I deemed circumcision necessary. unawares--"in an underhand manner brought in." privily--stealthily. to spy out--as foes in the guise of friends, wishing to destroy and rob us of our liberty--from the yoke of the ceremonial law. If they had found that we circumcised Titus through fear of the apostles, they would have made that a ground for insisting on imposing the legal yoke on the Gentiles. bring us into bondage--The Greek future implies the certainty and continuance of the bondage as the result.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.