complete verse (Titus 2:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Titus 2:6:

  • Uma: “So also men who are young, teach them to have clear hearts [be wise], and to know how to hold-in-check every kind of evil desire of their hearts.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Like that also instruct/teach the young men that their thinking should be good.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Like that also is what you teach to the young men. You must teach them that they must carefully regulate their behaviour.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So also the younger men (lit. younger-siblings who are males), advise them to control themselves in all that they do.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And also you are to teach the young men that they must control themselves well.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The young men, also you must tell to watch themselves well.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Titus 2:6 – Titus 2:7

Urge is a verb that is often translated “exhort” or “encourage,” for which see 1 Tim 1.3 and 2.1.

Younger men is the comparative masculine form of the word translated “young women” in the verse 4.

To control themselves is the verb form of the word translated “sensible” in 2.2 and 2.5. The verb can literally be translated “to keep one’s head” and refers primarily to controlling the activities of one’s mind, resulting in sobriety and sensibleness. See further on 1 Tim 3.2.

In much the same way that Paul appealed to Timothy to be an example to the believers (1 Tim 4.12, 13), he urges Titus to play the same role particularly for the young men, and since he is one of them, the qualities he is encouraged to exhibit are also meant for the group as a whole.

In the Greek text in all respects (literally “in all things”) is at the beginning of verse 7 and may be interpreted as going with what precedes; hence “self-controlled in all things”; this is in fact the way the UBS Greek text is punctuated and is the option followed by some translations (for example, New Jerusalem Bible “be moderate in everything that they do”; Revised English Bible “to be temperate in all things”). It can, however, be taken as going with what follows, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done. This Handbook recommends that translators take the phrase in all respects as agreeing with what follows. Other ways to express this are “And you yourself must always set an example of good conduct for others to follow” or “You should always do good deeds as an example for others to follow.”

Show translates a verb that means “to exhibit,” “to present.” Model translates the same word rendered “example” in 1 Tim 4.12, for which see discussion there. It may not be natural to literally translate the Greek here; it may be much more appropriate to say “you must be an example” (for example, Good News Translation) or “Set them an example” (Revised English Bible; compare New Jerusalem Bible “you yourself set an example”).

Deeds may be taken to refer to specific acts, or to conduct or behavior in general (for example, Good News Translation “good behavior,” Revised English Bible “good conduct,” Phillips “good living”).

For teaching see 1 Tim 1.10. The focus here is on Titus’ activity as a teacher rather than on the content of his teaching.

The word for integrity appears only here in the New Testament; when used of content it ascribes to it the qualities of moral soundness, purity, and being devoid of any corruption. Here, however, it denotes the quality of Titus’ way of teaching and includes the elements of honesty, sincerity, and purity of motivation. In certain languages this will be expressed idiomatically as “with a true heart.”

Gravity translates the same word used in 1 Tim 2.2 and 1 Tim 3.4, where it is translated “respectful in every way.” Here the accent is perhaps on a particular way of teaching; hence “serious” (Good News Translation), “dignified.” An alternative translation model for the final sentence is “When you teach, do it in a sincere and serious way.”

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on Titus 2:6

Paragraph 2:6–8

2:6

In the same way: This phrase indicates that Paul’s next comments are similar to what he just said. In Greek it is the same word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “likewise” in 2:3.

Here are some other ways to translate it:

Likewise (New Revised Standard Version)

or

Similarly (New International Version (2011 Revision))

urge the younger men to be self-controlled: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as urge means to convince someone to think or behave in a particular way. See how you translated it in 1:9 and translate it the same way in both places.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

urge the young men to be sensible (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
urge the younger men to control themselves (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Encourage young men to use good judgment (God’s Word)

the younger men: This phrase probably refers to men between 20 and 40 years old.

to be self-controlled: This Greek word refers to someone who is thoughtful about how he behaves, is not impulsive and avoids extremes. See how you translated it in 1:8, 2:2 and 2:5 and translate it the same in all four places.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.