Teaching all people how to be godly

2 But you should talk in a way that is consistent with sound teaching. ² Tell the older men to be sober, dignified, sensible, and healthy in respect to their faith, love, and patience.

³ Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in their behavior, teaching what is good, rather than being gossips or addicted to heavy drinking. ⁴ That way they can mentor young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ and to be sensible, morally pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, so that God’s word won’t be ridiculed. ⁶ Likewise, encourage the younger men to be sensible ⁷ in every way. Offer yourself as a role model of good actions. Show integrity, seriousness, ⁸ and a sound message that is above criticism when you teach, so that any opponent will be ashamed because they won’t find anything bad to say about us.

⁹ Tell slaves to submit to their own masters and please them in everything they do. They shouldn’t talk back ¹⁰ or steal. Instead, they should show that they are completely reliable in everything so that they might make the teaching about God our savior attractive in every way.

¹¹ The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ¹² It educates us so that we can live sensible, ethical, and godly lives right now by rejecting ungodly lives and the desires of this world. ¹³ At the same time we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and savior Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ He gave himself for us in order to rescue us from every kind of lawless behavior, and cleanse a special people for himself who are eager to do good actions.

Psalm 37^[a]

Of David.

⁷ “Would any of you say to your servant, who had just come in from the field after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Come! Sit down for dinner’? ⁸ Wouldn’t you say instead, ‘Fix my dinner. Put on the clothes of a table servant and wait on me while I eat and drink. After that, you can eat and drink’? ⁹ You won’t thank the servant because the servant did what you asked, will you? ¹⁰ In the same way, when you have done everything required of you, you should say, ‘We servants deserve no special praise. We have only done our duty.’”