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Titus 1-3; Philemon 1 (Contemporary English Version)

Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Titus 1-3 Listen to this passage View commentary related to this passage Titus 1 ¹From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I encourage God's own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion. ²Then they will have the hope of eternal life that God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie! ³So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said. ⁴Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace! What Titus Was To Do in Crete ⁵I left you in Crete to do what had been left undone and to appoint leaders ^[a] for the churches in each town. As I told you, ⁶they must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. ^[b] Their children must be followers of the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild and disobedient. ⁷Church officials ^[c] are in charge of God's work, and so they must also have a good reputation. They must not be bossy, quick-tempered, heavy drinkers, bullies, or dishonest in business. ⁸Instead, they must be friendly to strangers and enjoy doing good things. They must also be sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled. ⁹They must stick to the true message they were taught, so that their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it. ¹⁰There are many who don't respect authority, and they fool others by talking nonsense. This is especially true of some Jewish followers. ¹¹But you must make them be quiet. They are after money, and they upset whole families by teaching what they should not. ¹²It is like one of their own prophets once said, "The people of Crete always tell lies. They are greedy and lazy like wild animals." ¹³That surely is a true saying. And you should be hard on such people, so you can help them grow stronger in their faith. ¹⁴Don't pay any attention to any of those senseless Jewish stories and human commands. These are made up by people who won't obey the truth. ¹⁵Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind. That person's mind and conscience are destroyed. ¹⁶Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove that they really don't. They are disgusting. They won't obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good. Titus 2 Instructions for Different Groups of People ¹Titus, you must teach only what is correct. ²Tell the older men to have self-control and to be serious and sensible. Their faith, love, and patience must never fail. ³Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, ⁴so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. ⁵Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God's message. ⁶Tell the young men to have self-control in everything. ⁷Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach. ⁸Use clean language that no one can criticize. Do this, and your enemies will be too ashamed to say anything against you. ⁹Tell slaves always to please their owners by obeying them in everything. Slaves must not talk back to their owners ¹⁰or steal from them. They must be completely honest and trustworthy. Then everyone will show great respect for what is taught about God our Savior. God's Kindness and the New Life ¹¹God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. ¹²He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world. ¹³We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. ^[d] ¹⁴He gave himself to rescue us from everything that is evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right. ¹⁵Teach these things, as you use your full authority to encourage and correct people. Make sure you earn everyone's respect. Titus 3 Doing Helpful Things ¹Remind your people to obey the rulers and authorities and not to be rebellious. They must always be ready to do something helpful ²and not say cruel things or argue. They should be gentle and kind to everyone. ³We used to be stupid, disobedient, and foolish, as well as slaves of all sorts of desires and pleasures. We were evil and jealous. Everyone hated us, and we hated everyone. ⁴God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. ⁵He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. God washed us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave us new birth and a fresh beginning. ⁶God sent Jesus Christ our Savior to give us his Spirit. ⁷Jesus treated us much better than we deserve. He made us acceptable to God and gave us the hope of eternal life. ⁸This message is certainly true. These teachings are useful and helpful for everyone. I want you to insist that the people follow them, so that all who have faith in God will be sure to do good deeds. ⁹But don't have anything to do with stupid arguments about ancestors. And stay away from disagreements and quarrels about the Law of Moses. Such arguments are useless and senseless. ¹⁰Warn troublemakers once or twice. Then don't have anything else to do with them. ¹¹You know that their minds are twisted, and their own sins show how guilty they are. Personal Instructions and Greetings ¹²I plan to send Artemas or Tychicus to you. After he arrives, please try your best to meet me at Nicopolis. I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³When Zenas the lawyer and Apollos get ready to leave, help them as much as you can, so they won't have need of anything. ¹⁴Our people should learn to spend their time doing something useful and worthwhile. ¹⁵Greetings to you from everyone here. Greet all of our friends who share in our faith. I pray that the Lord will be kind to all of you! Footnotes: Titus 1:5 leaders: Or "elders" or "presbyters" or "priests." Titus 1:6 be faithful in marriage: Or "be the husband of only one wife" or "have never been divorced." Titus 1:7 Church officials: Or "Bishops." Titus 2:13 the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ: Or "the glorious return of our great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" or "the return of Jesus Christ, who is the glory of our great God and Savior." Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society
Philemon 1 Listen to this passage View commentary related to this passage Philemon 1 ¹From Paul, who is in jail for serving Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is like a brother because of our faith. Philemon, you work with us and are very dear to us. This letter is to you ²and to the church that meets in your home. It is also to our dear friend Apphia and to Archippus, who serves the Lord as we do. ³I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace! Philemon's Love and Faith ⁴Philemon, each time I mention you in my prayers, I thank God. ⁵I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and about your love for all of God's people. ⁶As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us. ⁷My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God's people. Paul Speaks to Philemon about Onesimus ⁸Christ gives me the courage to tell you what to do. ⁹But I would rather ask you to do it simply because of love. Yes, as someone ^[a] in jail for Christ, ¹⁰I beg you to help Onesimus! ^[b] He is like a son to me because I led him to Christ here in jail. ¹¹Before this, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. ¹²Sending Onesimus back to you makes me very sad. ¹³I would like to keep him here with me, where he could take your place in helping me while I am here in prison for preaching the good news. ¹⁴But I won't do anything unless you agree to it first. I want your act of kindness to come from your heart, and not be something you feel forced to do. ¹⁵Perhaps Onesimus was taken from you for a little while so that you could have him back for good, ¹⁶but not as a slave. Onesimus is much more than a slave. To me he is a dear friend, but to you he is even more, both as a person and as a follower of the Lord. ¹⁷If you consider me a friend because of Christ, then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. ¹⁸If he has cheated you or owes you anything, charge it to my account. ¹⁹With my own hand I write: I, PAUL, WILL PAY YOU BACK. But don't forget that you owe me your life. ²⁰My dear friend and follower of Christ our Lord, please cheer me up by doing this for me. ²¹I am sure you will do all I have asked, and even more. ²²Please get a room ready for me. I hope your prayers will be answered, and I can visit you. ²³Epaphras is also here in jail for being a follower of Christ Jesus. He sends his greetings, ²⁴and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, who work together with me. ²⁵I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you! Footnotes: Philemon 1:9 someone: Greek "a messenger" or "an old man." Philemon 1:10 Onesimus: In Greek this name means "useful." Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Titus 1-3

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Titus 1

¹From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I encourage God's own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion. ²Then they will have the hope of eternal life that God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie! ³So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said.

⁴Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

What Titus Was To Do in Crete

⁵I left you in Crete to do what had been left undone and to appoint leaders ^[a] for the churches in each town. As I told you, ⁶they must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. ^[b] Their children must be followers of the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild and disobedient. ⁷Church officials ^[c] are in charge of God's work, and so they must also have a good reputation. They must not be bossy, quick-tempered, heavy drinkers, bullies, or dishonest in business. ⁸Instead, they must be friendly to strangers and enjoy doing good things. They must also be sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled. ⁹They must stick to the true message they were taught, so that their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it. ¹⁰There are many who don't respect authority, and they fool others by talking nonsense. This is especially true of some Jewish followers. ¹¹But you must make them be quiet. They are after money, and they upset whole families by teaching what they should not. ¹²It is like one of their own prophets once said,

"The people of Crete

always tell lies.

They are greedy and lazy

like wild animals."

¹³That surely is a true saying. And you should be hard on such people, so you can help them grow stronger in their faith. ¹⁴Don't pay any attention to any of those senseless Jewish stories and human commands. These are made up by people who won't obey the truth.

¹⁵Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind. That person's mind and conscience are destroyed. ¹⁶Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove that they really don't. They are disgusting. They won't obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.

Titus 2

Instructions for Different Groups of People

¹Titus, you must teach only what is correct. ²Tell the older men to have self-control and to be serious and sensible. Their faith, love, and patience must never fail.

³Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, ⁴so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. ⁵Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God's message.

⁶Tell the young men to have self-control in everything.

⁷Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach. ⁸Use clean language that no one can criticize. Do this, and your enemies will be too ashamed to say anything against you.

⁹Tell slaves always to please their owners by obeying them in everything. Slaves must not talk back to their owners ¹⁰or steal from them. They must be completely honest and trustworthy. Then everyone will show great respect for what is taught about God our Savior.

God's Kindness and the New Life

¹¹God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. ¹²He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world. ¹³We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. ^[d] ¹⁴He gave himself to rescue us from everything that is evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right. ¹⁵Teach these things, as you use your full authority to encourage and correct people. Make sure you earn everyone's respect.

Titus 3

Doing Helpful Things

¹Remind your people to obey the rulers and authorities and not to be rebellious. They must always be ready to do something helpful ²and not say cruel things or argue. They should be gentle and kind to everyone. ³We used to be stupid, disobedient, and foolish, as well as slaves of all sorts of desires and pleasures. We were evil and jealous. Everyone hated us, and we hated everyone.

⁴God our Savior showed us

how good and kind he is.

⁵He saved us because

of his mercy,

and not because

of any good things

that we have done.

God washed us by the power

of the Holy Spirit.

He gave us new birth

and a fresh beginning.

⁶God sent Jesus Christ

our Savior

to give us his Spirit.

⁷Jesus treated us much better

than we deserve.

He made us acceptable to God

and gave us the hope

of eternal life.

⁸This message is certainly true.

These teachings are useful and helpful for everyone. I want you to insist that the people follow them, so that all who have faith in God will be sure to do good deeds. ⁹But don't have anything to do with stupid arguments about ancestors. And stay away from disagreements and quarrels about the Law of Moses. Such arguments are useless and senseless.

¹⁰Warn troublemakers once or twice. Then don't have anything else to do with them. ¹¹You know that their minds are twisted, and their own sins show how guilty they are.

Personal Instructions and Greetings

¹²I plan to send Artemas or Tychicus to you. After he arrives, please try your best to meet me at Nicopolis. I have decided to spend the winter there.

¹³When Zenas the lawyer and Apollos get ready to leave, help them as much as you can, so they won't have need of anything.

¹⁴Our people should learn to spend their time doing something useful and worthwhile.

¹⁵Greetings to you from everyone here. Greet all of our friends who share in our faith.

I pray that the Lord will be kind to all of you!

Footnotes:

Titus 1:5 leaders: Or "elders" or "presbyters" or "priests."
Titus 1:6 be faithful in marriage: Or "be the husband of only one wife" or "have never been divorced."
Titus 1:7 Church officials: Or "Bishops."
Titus 2:13 the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ: Or "the glorious return of our great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" or "the return of Jesus Christ, who is the glory of our great God and Savior."

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Philemon 1

Listen to this passage
View commentary related to this passage

Philemon 1

¹From Paul, who is in jail for serving Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is like a brother because of our faith.

Philemon, you work with us and are very dear to us. This letter is to you

²and to the church that meets in your home. It is also to our dear friend Apphia and to Archippus, who serves the Lord as we do.

³I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

Philemon's Love and Faith

⁴Philemon, each time I mention you in my prayers, I thank God.

⁵I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and about your love for all of God's people.

⁶As you share your faith with others, I pray that they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us.

⁷My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God's people.

Paul Speaks to Philemon about Onesimus

⁸Christ gives me the courage to tell you what to do.

⁹But I would rather ask you to do it simply because of love. Yes, as someone ^[a] in jail for Christ,

¹⁰I beg you to help Onesimus! ^[b] He is like a son to me because I led him to Christ here in jail.

¹¹Before this, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.

¹²Sending Onesimus back to you makes me very sad.

¹³I would like to keep him here with me, where he could take your place in helping me while I am here in prison for preaching the good news.

¹⁴But I won't do anything unless you agree to it first. I want your act of kindness to come from your heart, and not be something you feel forced to do.

¹⁵Perhaps Onesimus was taken from you for a little while so that you could have him back for good,

¹⁶but not as a slave. Onesimus is much more than a slave. To me he is a dear friend, but to you he is even more, both as a person and as a follower of the Lord.

¹⁷If you consider me a friend because of Christ, then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me.

¹⁸If he has cheated you or owes you anything, charge it to my account.

¹⁹With my own hand I write: I, PAUL, WILL PAY YOU BACK. But don't forget that you owe me your life.

²⁰My dear friend and follower of Christ our Lord, please cheer me up by doing this for me.

²¹I am sure you will do all I have asked, and even more.

²²Please get a room ready for me. I hope your prayers will be answered, and I can visit you.

²³Epaphras is also here in jail for being a follower of Christ Jesus. He sends his greetings,

²⁴and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, who work together with me.

²⁵I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you!

Footnotes:

Philemon 1:9 someone: Greek "a messenger" or "an old man."
Philemon 1:10 Onesimus: In Greek this name means "useful."

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Passage results

Titus 1-3; Philemon 1 (Contemporary English Version)

Titus 1

What Titus Was To Do in Crete

Titus 2

Instructions for Different Groups of People

God's Kindness and the New Life

Titus 3

Doing Helpful Things

Personal Instructions and Greetings

Philemon 1

Philemon's Love and Faith

Paul Speaks to Philemon about Onesimus