Pilfer translates a verb that refers to the misappropriation of funds for one’s own benefit; hence “to embezzle.” It is used twice in Acts 5, in connection with the story of Ananias and Sapphira. This was a common temptation for slaves, since many of them were entrusted with the task of buying, and often were in charge of large amounts of money. Since money seems to be involved, it will be helpful in many languages to say “steal money from….”

Instead of engaging in these two negative acts, that is, of stealing and of talking back to their masters, slaves must display qualities that prove that they can be trusted.

For show see 1 Tim 1.16 (where it is translated “display”).

Show entire and true fidelity translates a Greek expression that can literally be rendered “displaying all good faith,” with “faith” understood not as trust or confidence that slaves should have toward their masters, but as “trustworthiness” or “dependability” that they should exhibit to their masters, with “all” defining the constancy of this trustworthiness, and “good” defining its genuineness (compare New Revised Standard Version “complete and perfect fidelity”). Another way to express this clause is “They must show their masters that they are completely honest and trustworthy.”

The purpose of the slaves’ behavior is made clear in the last part of this verse, namely, to ensure that people regard the Christian message in a positive manner. In everything probably refers to the slaves’ behavior; hence “by everything they do” (An American Translation). Adorn is found in 1 Tim 2.9, where it is used to describe how women make themselves attractive, and that seems to be the meaning here as well. They can refer to other people, but in view of the meaning of adorn as “to make attractive,” it is much more logical to take the slaves themselves as the antecedent of they. But of course the beneficiaries of the slaves’ behavior are other people, including the masters. In other words, as the slaves make the message about God as Savior attractive, other people will also see how good and attractive this message is. Doctrine is literally “teaching” but in this context refers to an established body of teaching that is accepted as correct by the Christian community. For God our Savior see 1 Tim 1.1. The expression the doctrine of God is a genitive construction that can either be subjective (that is, “the doctrine from God”) or, more likely, objective (that is, “the doctrine about God”). An alternative translation model for this final sentence is “And because of their good behavior, everyone will show respect for the teaching about God our Savior.”

Alternative translation models for verses 9 and 10 are:

• Tell slaves to obey their owners and cause them to be happy with everything they do. They must not talk back to their owners or steal money from them. Instead they must show their owners that they are completely honest and trustworthy. And because of their good behavior, everyone will show great respect for the teaching about God our [inclusive] Savior.

Or:

• Tell slaves always to please their masters by obeying them. They must not talk back… … And everyone will show great respect for the teaching about God our [inclusive] Savior when they see how well these slaves behave.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Titus. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .