This verse continues the sentence that began in the previous verse; in fact, the main verb (he saved us) is included in this verse. It may be advisable and even necessary to include this main verb with the previous verse and start a new sentence here, as Contemporary English Version has done.

While the previous verse gives the ground, basis, and setting of God’s saving act, this verse gives the reason for this saving act and how it is effected.

The first assertion is that salvation is wholly dependent on God’s mercy and not on human effort of any kind. For saved see 1 Tim 1.15.

For righteousness see 1 Tim 6.11. In the present context deeds done by us in righteousness can be saying “things that we do because we are good” or “good things that we ourselves have done” (so Good News Translation “any good deeds that we ourselves have done”).

In virtue of translates a preposition that can be rendered “in accordance to,” “in the manner of,” “in accordance with.” This means that salvation is solely dependent on God’s mercy, that it is God’s nature as merciful that makes him save us, and that because of God’s mercy he gives us salvation and new life.

For mercy see 1 Tim 1.2. The main element of mercy is not “pity” but “compassion” and “love,” both of which are not deserved by the recipient.

The second half of this verse is rather difficult. A literal translation of the Greek text is as follows: “through (or, by) the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” We will first examine these words separately and then analyze the phrase in its entirety in order to determine what it means.

Washing translates a rare word used only here and in Eph 5.26; it refers to ceremonial washing that is most likely related to baptism. However, the focus here doesn’t seem to be the rite of baptism itself but its function as a means of purification or spiritual cleansing. So in many languages one must say “washes our hearts” or “purifies our hearts.”

Regeneration also translates a rare word, occurring only here and in Matt 19.28. In the Matthean reference it refers to the “renewal” of the world. In the present context the term is used to describe a complete change in one’s way of life; hence “rebirth.”

Likewise the word for renewal appears only twice in the New Testament, here and in Rom 12.2. The term is derived from a verb that means “to cause something or someone to become new,” with the implication that this is a good thing.

What does the expression mean? There are several possibilities.
1. Rebirth and renewal are two separate things, with rebirth relating to washing, and renewal relating to the Holy Spirit. A literal translation of the text tends to suggest this (in addition to Revised Standard Version, see New International Version “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”; Jerusalem Bible “He saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit”). In this understanding we have here two ways by which God saves us: through rebirth that is effected through washing, and through renewal that is effected by the Holy Spirit. Or perhaps rebirth and renewal are two separate stages in the believer’s life, with rebirth equivalent to conversion and being experienced at the time of baptism (which is what washing is), and renewal referring to a subsequent activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
2. Washing is equivalent to rebirth and renewal. This produces a sentence like “He saved us through the washing, that is, the rebirth and renewal that is effected by the Holy Spirit.”
3. Washing is a sign of rebirth and renewal. This produces a sentence like “He saved us by means of the washing that is a sign that we have experienced rebirth and renewal from the Holy Spirit.”
4. Washing as spiritual cleansing is the means by which the Holy Spirit works out rebirth and renewal. This takes the genitive “of the Holy Spirit” as marking the Holy Spirit as agent for both rebirth and renewal that in turn are taken as synonyms. The agent of washing may also be the Holy Spirit, and this information may be made explicit in the translation. However, this is not in focus in the text. This last option is what is preferred in this Handbook.

A possible translation is “God saved us through the power of the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us and making us spiritually clean.”

Alternative translation models for verses 4 and 5 are:

• But when God our Savior showed his love and kindness to us, he saved us. This was not because we ourselves had done any good thing, but because he [God] was merciful to us. He saved us through the power of the Holy Spirit (or, his Spirit), who gives us a new birth and new life by washing our lives and making them pure.

Or:

• But God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. He saved us because he is merciful and not because of any good deeds we have done. Through the power of his Spirit he washed us and caused us to be born again and have new life.

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 .

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 .

For grace see 1 Tim 1.2. The grace of God here is God’s saving love and favor. Has appeared means that God has made this grace known. It may not be natural in some languages to talk about grace appearing; it may be more natural to say that God has made his grace known (so Good News Translation; compare Contemporary English Version “God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people”). The prepositional phrase for the salvation translates “salvation” in the dative case; this can be interpreted as stating purpose; hence “in order to bring salvation” (compare New Revised Standard Version “bringing salvation”), “for the purpose of providing the opportunity to experience salvation.” All men (Good News Translation “all people”) may be connected either with appeared (compare New International Version “has appeared to all men”) or with salvation (so Good News Translation “the salvation of all people”). While either is possible, the Greek word order favors the latter.

For salvation see comments on “save” in 1 Tim 1.15.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• For God has shown how kind (or, merciful) he is by providing the means for saving all people.

Or:

• For God has shown how kind he is by coming to save all people.

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 .

This verse is part of a long sentence that begins in verse 11 and ends in verse 14, a form that is retained by Revised Standard Version. Many translations start a new sentence here in order to clearly indicate that the subject of this verse is “grace” mentioned in verse 11 (for example, Good News Translation “That grace,” Translator’s New Testament “It”).

This verse relates “grace” to Christian behavior, that is, it is revealed for the purpose of showing Christians how to live properly in this world. “Grace” is here personified, since it is able to train; this may be a problem in some languages, in which case the verse can be restructured to show that it is indeed God who does the training, and “grace” is God’s instrument (for example, “By this grace God instructs us” or “Through his kindness God…”; compare Revised English Bible “and by it we are disciplined…”).

Training translates a participial form of the verb that refers to the education and disciplining of a child; hence “to teach,” “to instruct,” “to discipline” (see further on “learn” in 1 Tim 1.20 and on “correcting” in 2 Tim 2.25). The object of training is us, which in this context is a general reference to Christians, including Titus, and therefore should be translated as inclusive. The instruction consists of negative and positive elements. Negatively we are to renounce (“give up,” see “disowned” in 1 Tim 5.8) irreligion and worldly passions.

Irreligion is the negative form of the word often used in these letters to mean “godliness” or “religion,” hence “godlessness,” “ungodliness.” See further on 2 Tim 2.16. Other ways of expressing this are “wicked ways” (Contemporary English Version), “way of life which does not reverence God.”

Worldly translates a term that pertains to systems or standards of this world, with the implication that this world is bad or corrupt. For passions see “desires” and comments in 1 Tim 6.9. Worldly passions are desires that are according to worldly standards resulting in immoral behavior and therefore against the will of God.

Positively we are to live lives characterized by sobriety, uprightness, and godliness. For sober see “sensible” in 1 Tim 3.2; for upright see on Titus 1.8; for godly see 2 Tim 3.12. For in this world see on 1 Tim 6.17.

Alternative translation models for the first part of this verse are:

• God’s kindness to us instructs us to renounce our [inclusive] wicked ways (or, sinful life) and worldly desires …

Or:

• Through his kindness God teaches us [inclusive] to …

Or:

• He [God] taught us …

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 .

The living of the Christian life is in the context of “waiting,” which is to say that the present is always related to the future. Awaiting is literally “looking for,” with the confidence that the search will be successful. “To wait” in this context therefore includes the expectation and confidence that what is being awaited will come in due time. What we wait for is, as New Revised Standard Version puts it, “the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Several observations need to be made. “The blessed hope and the manifestation” is most probably a hendiadys, with “manifestation” being the content of the “hope.” “Manifestation” is related to the word translated “has appeared” in verse 11; hence the appearing. Hope once again is not simply wishing for something but expecting something with confidence (see further on 1 Tim 1.1). This hope is described as blessed (for which see 1 Tim 1.11 and 6.15), which Good News Translation has correctly restructured as “the blessed day we hope for.” Therefore what we are waiting for with confidence is the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. It is possible to take glory as a noun describing appearing; hence “glorious appearing” (compare King James Version); it is more likely, however, that glory is what is going to “appear.” It is probably best to take appearing as referring to the second coming of Jesus Christ, during which time his glory will be revealed. Glory here may mean “greatness,” “majesty,” or “power to save,” or else Christ’s very nature as someone who is equal to God and the same as God.

As the Revised Standard Version footnote shows, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ can also be rendered as “the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” The question is, is this referring to Jesus Christ alone, or to both God and Jesus Christ? Either one is possible, although the translation in the Revised Standard Version text seems to be closer to the Greek text for the following reasons: (1) Grammatically there is only one definite article in the phrase, before “God,” and it should be assumed before Savior as well. So literally the Greek text reads “of the God and Savior of us.” This argument becomes more telling if one takes into account the fact that “Savior” occurs five other times in Titus, and in all five cases with the definite article. (2) The expression “God and Savior” exists as a definite unit in both the mystery religions and in the Septuagint. (3) Finally, if we are correct in relating this passage to the second coming of Christ, it is rather unlikely that God the Father would be spoken of as also returning with the Son. In view of all this, God in this verse is better understood as a noun that, together with Savior, describes the nature of Jesus Christ.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• We [inclusive] wait expectantly for the wonderful Day when our [inclusive] God and Savior Jesus Christ returns gloriously.

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 .

This verse gives a further elaboration of the role and function of Christ Jesus, focusing primarily on his first appearance in history.

As Revised Standard Version shows, this verse is still part of the long sentence that began at verse 11. As in similar cases, this long sentence may need to be subdivided into shorter and more manageable sentences, depending of course on the receptor language and the intended audience for the translation.

The first part is a general statement that Christ gave himself for us, which is a reference to his vicarious suffering and death (compare Revised English Bible “He it is who sacrificed himself for us”). A similar statement occurs in 1 Tim 2.6. Us here refers to all believers, including Titus, and should be translated as inclusive throughout this passage.

The purpose of Christ giving himself for us is to redeem us from all iniquity. The verb for to redeem appears only here, in Luke 24.21, and in 1 Peter 1.18. In non-biblical writings it refers to the payment of a certain amount of money to secure the freedom of slaves or of prisoners of war. In the Old Testament it is used to describe God’s powerful act of setting the Israelites free from their slavery in Egypt. This meaning seems to have been the immediate background of the usage of this term in the New Testament, so that it refers to God’s (or Christ’s) powerful way of setting people free from the power of sin. This meaning is also central in the present passage, where redeem can be accurately rendered as “set free” or “rescue” (Good News Translation). In some languages the repetition of the pronoun us in the first part of the verse will be unnatural style. In such a case one may say “He gave (or, sacrificed) himself to rescue us from….”

Iniquity is literally “lawlessness,” that is, living in complete disregard of moral and ethical laws, and by implication living in wickedness.

Positively, Christ’s giving up of himself has for its purpose to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. Purify is a ritual term referring to the act of making something or someone free from ritual contamination, and therefore acceptable as an instrument for worship. An extended meaning of this word is to make someone morally clean, that is, free from all moral impurity or from any act that is not worthy of God’s people. A people is equivalent to us in the first part of this verse, and this may be made clear in the translation (for example, Good News Translation “to make us a pure people,” Revised English Bible “to make us his own people”). Of his own translates a Greek word that means “special,” hence Good News Translation “who belong to him alone.” Thus purified we are then enabled to become zealous for good deeds, that is, “eager to do good.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• He sacrificed himself to rescue us [inclusive] from every wicked thing (or, all evil ways) and free us from all impurity so that we may be his own people who are eager to do good.

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 .

This section ends with another direct appeal to Titus, exhorting him to use his teaching function with authority, and not to allow anyone to undermine him.

Declare is literally “speak,” for which see Titus 2.1 of this chapter. These things refers to everything that is contained in this chapter. For exhort see 1 Tim 1.3 and Titus 2.6 of this chapter. For reprove see “rebuke” in 1 Tim 5.20. For authority see comments on 1 Tim 1.1, where the same word is translated “command.” The focus here is on Titus’ authority as a pastor and a church leader. For disregard see 1 Tim 4.12, where a different verb is used but with the same meaning, namely “despise,” “deprecate.” The last sentence in this verse can be translated positively; for example, Contemporary English Version “Make sure you earn everyone’s respect.” However, it does seem that the negative has greater force and effect (see Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation).

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 .

Paul starts off by defining the proper attitude of Christians toward those in authority.

Remind implies that what follows is not new information but is already known by those who are being addressed. Sometimes this is expressed by a statement like “Continue to bring these matters to their attention.” See further on 2 Tim 1.6 and 2.14.

Them refers to the Christians in Crete, including and especially all the classes of people mentioned in chapter 2; it is these people who are the object of Titus’ teaching as mentioned in 2.15, to which the present verse is logically connected. Since this is the first verse of a new chapter, it will be helpful in many languages to render Remind them as “Remind the Cretan Christians” or “You should counsel the believers to….”

For submissive see 2.5.

Rulers translates a word that in certain contexts refers to rulers and those who have authority, whether human or nonhuman. In the present context the word definitely refers to those who have authority or power in government, including the emperor and governors. So one may also translate as “people who have power to rule over others.”

Authorities translates the plural form of the word that means “authority,” or “power.” In this context it is not authority as a governing principle that is referred to but the people who hold such authority.

In the New Testament the two Greek terms for rulers and authorities appear together ten times, always in the order found in this verse. Taking into account the way these terms are used in other places, we can conclude safely that rulers and authorities do not refer to the leaders of the Christian movement but to political rulers and government officials. These two terms are almost synonymous in meaning in this context. In fact, the construction here can be treated as a hendiadys, with one term modifying the other; for example, “authorities who rule” or “powerful rulers.” Another possibility, of course, is for translators to find two words, one concentrating on the aspect of “ruling over others,” and the other “the right or authority to rule.” In some languages rulers will be the equivalent of “high chiefs,” and authorities will be “minor chiefs” or “government officials.”

Obedient translates a compound word composed of the word for “obey” and the word for “ruler,” hence King James Version “obey magistrates.” Interpreted in this manner, it is parallel to submissive to rulers …. In some cases it will be possible to say “and not be disobedient” or “and not be rebellious” (so Contemporary English Version).

Ready is “fully prepared.” Honest work is literally “good work,” for which see “good deeds” in 1 Tim 2.10. This may be related to what precedes, in which case it is an expression of obedience and submission to the government authorities; it is more likely, however, that this is related to what follows, in which case honest work here refers to any good deed that is done for the benefit of others. If this latter option is valid, then it is only submission and obedience that defines the Christian’s behavior toward government leaders, while the Christian’s conduct and attitude toward others includes good works and the four items mentioned in the next verse.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• You must counsel the Christians there to obey those who have the power to rule (or kings, or high chiefs) and government officials, and not be disobedient. They [the Christians] must always be ready to do good deeds.

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 .