Titus 3
New American Standard Bible
Godly Living
3 (A)Remind them (B)to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be (C)ready for every good deed, 2 to slander no one, (D)not to be contentious, to be (E)gentle, (F)showing every consideration for all people. 3 (G)For we too were once foolish, (H)disobedient, (I)deceived, (J)enslaved to (K)various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in (L)malice and (M)envy, hateful, hating one another. 4 But when the (N)kindness of (O)God our Savior and His love for mankind (P)appeared, 5 (Q)He saved us, (R)not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but (S)in accordance with His mercy, by the (T)washing of regeneration and (U)renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 (V)whom He (W)richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made (X)heirs [a]according to the hope of eternal life. 8 (Y)This statement is trustworthy; and concerning these things I (Z)want you to speak confidently, so that those who have (AA)believed God will be careful to (AB)engage in good deeds. These things are good and beneficial for people. 9 But (AC)avoid (AD)foolish controversies and (AE)genealogies and strife and (AF)disputes about the Law, for they are (AG)useless and worthless. 10 (AH)Reject a [b](AI)divisive person (AJ)after a first and second warning, 11 knowing that such a person has (AK)deviated from what is right and is sinning, being self-condemned.
Personal Concerns
12 When I send Artemas or (AL)Tychicus to you, (AM)make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to (AN)spend the winter there. 13 Diligently help Zenas the (AO)lawyer and (AP)Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. 14 (AQ)Our people must also learn to (AR)engage in good [c]deeds to meet (AS)pressing needs, so that they will not be (AT)unproductive.
15 (AU)All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us (AV)in the faith.
(AW)Grace be with you all.
Footnotes
- Titus 3:7 Or of eternal life according to hope
- Titus 3:10 Or factious
- Titus 3:14 Or occupations
Titus 3
Complete Jewish Bible
3 Remind people to submit to the government and its officials, to obey them, to be ready to do any honorable kind of work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be friendly, and to behave gently towards everyone.
3 For at one time, we too were foolish and disobedient, deceived and enslaved by a variety of passions and pleasures. We spent our lives in evil and envy; people hated us, and we hated each other. 4 But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Deliverer was revealed, 5 he delivered us. It was not on the ground of any righteous deeds we had done, but on the ground of his own mercy. He did it by means of the mikveh of rebirth and the renewal brought about by the Ruach HaKodesh, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Yeshua the Messiah, our Deliverer. 7 He did it so that by his grace we might come to be considered righteous by God and become heirs, with the certain hope of eternal life. 8 You can trust what I have just said, and I want you to speak with confidence about these things, so that those who have put their trust in God may apply themselves to doing good deeds. These are both good in themselves and valuable to the community.
9 But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, quarrels and fights about the Torah; because they are worthless and futile. 10 Warn a divisive person once, then a second time; and after that, have nothing more to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a person has been perverted and is sinning: he stands self-condemned.
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you. Do your best to come to me in Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to help Zenas the Torah expert and Apollos with their arrangements for travelling, so that they will lack nothing. 14 And have our people learn to apply themselves to doing good deeds that meet genuine needs, so that they will not be unproductive.
15 All who are with me send you greetings. Give our greetings to our friends in the faith.
Grace be with you all.
Titus 3
New King James Version
Graces of the Heirs of Grace
3 Remind them (A)to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, (B)to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For (C)we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when (D)the kindness and the love of (E)God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 (F)not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through (G)the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 (H)whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace (I)we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 (J)This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
Avoid Dissension
9 But (K)avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. 10 (L)Reject a divisive man after the first and second [a]admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.
Final Messages
12 When I send Artemas to you, or (M)Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Send Zenas the lawyer and (N)Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. 14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
Farewell
15 All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all. Amen.
Footnotes
- Titus 3:10 warning
Titus 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
1 Remind everyone to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey them, to be ready to perform any honorable task,[a] 2 to slander no one, to avoid quarrels, to be gentle, and to be gracious to everyone.
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, and enslaved by various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy. We ourselves were hateful, and we hated one another.
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness
of God our Savior appeared,
5 [b]not because of any righteous deeds on our part
but because of his mercy,
he saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he lavished on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
8 This saying can be trusted.
Be Devoted to Good Works.[c] I want you to stress these points, so that those who have come to believe in God will be determined to devote themselves to good works. All this is right and beneficial for people. 9 But avoid foolish arguments, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the Law, for they are unprofitable and futile.
10 Warn a heretic once or twice, but afterward reject him. 11 You may be sure that such a person is perverted and sinful and stands self-condemned.
Conclusion[d]
12 Final Message. As soon as I have sent Artemas[e] or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, where I intend to spend the winter. 13 Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos[f] on their way, and see to it that they lack nothing. 14 Meanwhile, our people must be taught to devote themselves to good works in order to meet urgent needs[g] so that they will not be unfruitful.
15 Farewell. All those with me send you greetings. Greetings to those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with all of you.[h]
Footnotes
- Titus 3:1 To be ready to perform any honorable task: another possible translation is: “to be open to every good enterprise.”
- Titus 3:5 The effects of Baptism are delineated: rebirth, forgiveness of sins by Christ, reception of the Holy Spirit, and the right to eternal life (of which the indwelling Spirit is a pledge—see 2 Cor 1:22).
- Titus 3:8 The act of believing is not something pertaining only to one’s spirit; it engages one’s whole life. The author shows himself to be severe toward those who spend their time and their understanding on idle discussions and on speculations whose object is no longer the sincere search for truth. Here, for the first time, is enunciated the idea of the seditious person, the “heretic,” a word borrowed from the philosophical schools of the time. In a Christian setting, he is a person who chooses the elements of the faith that suit him and is ready to deny essentials and divide the community.
- Titus 3:12 Paul takes the opportunity to stress one more time that Christians should do what is good (see Tit 3:1, 8, 14). This will ensure that their lives will not be “unfruitful.” The practice of doing good is above all the concrete mutual help among those who are disenfranchised.
- Titus 3:12 Artemas: apparently one of Paul’s coworkers, who is mentioned nowhere else. Tychicus: a trusted coworker of Paul who on several occasions seems to be traveling with the Apostle or for him (see Acts 20:4; Eph 6:21f; Col 4:7f; 2 Tim 4:12). Nicopolis: a city in the Roman province of Epirus on the west coast of Greece.
- Titus 3:13 Zenas . . . Apollos: almost certainly the bearers of this Letter. Zenas is a coworker of Paul mentioned nowhere else. Apollos is the well-known Alexandrian Jewish convert who was fully instructed at Ephesus and worked effectively in the Church of Corinth (see Acts 18:24-28; 19:1; 1 Cor 1:12; 3:4-6; 16:12).
- Titus 3:14 Urgent needs: another possible translation is: “practical needs.”
- Titus 3:15 Grace be with all of you: some manuscripts have: “The grace of the Lord [or ‘of God’] be with all of you. Amen.” All of you: the plural form indicates that Paul intended the Letter to be read to the whole Church (see 1 Tim 6:21; 2 Tim 4:22).
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
