Titus 1-3

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Titus 1:1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
2. Titus 1:1 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households. sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
3. Titus 1:1 tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”
4. Titus 1:2 tn Grk “before eternal times.”
5. Titus 1:3 tn The Greek text emphasizes the contrast between vv. 2b and 3a: God promised this long ago but now has revealed it in his own time.
6. Titus 1:6 tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.
7. Titus 1:6 tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.
8. Titus 1:6 tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.
9. Titus 1:7 sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.
10. Titus 1:7 tn Grk “as God’s steward.”
11. Titus 1:9 tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).
12. Titus 1:9 tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).
13. Titus 1:10 tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1241 1505 1739 1881 M lat), giving the sense “also many.” Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely autographic. NA²⁸ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
14. Titus 1:10 tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).
15. Titus 1:12 sn A saying attributed to the poet Epimenides of Crete (6th century b.c.).
16. Titus 1:14 sn Jewish myths were legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 1:4; 4:7; and 2 Tim 4:4.
17. Titus 2:1 tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).
18. Titus 2:2 tn Or “sensible.”
19. Titus 2:2 sn Temperate…in endurance. See the same cluster of virtues in 1 Thess 1:3 and 1 Cor 13:13.
20. Titus 2:4 tn Grk “that they may train” (continuing the sentence of 2:3).
21. Titus 2:4 tn This verb, σωφρονίζω (sōphronizō), denotes teaching in the sense of bringing people to their senses, showing what sound thinking is.
22. Titus 2:5 tn Or “sensible.”
23. Titus 2:5 tn Grk “domestic,” “keeping house.”
24. Titus 2:5 tn Or “word.”
25. Titus 2:5 tn Or “slandered.”
26. Titus 2:6 tn Or “sensible.”
27. Titus 2:8 tn Or “put to shame.”
28. Titus 2:9 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.
29. Titus 2:9 tn Or “to be subject to their own masters, to do what is wanted in everything.”
30. Titus 2:10 tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agathēn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν [pistin] by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though this is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.
31. Titus 2:10 tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”
32. Titus 2:11 tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.
33. Titus 2:12 tn Grk “training us” (as a continuation of the previous clause). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 by translating the participle παιδεύουσα (paideuousa) as a finite verb and supplying the pronoun “it” as subject.
34. Titus 2:12 tn Grk “ungodliness.”
35. Titus 2:13 tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”
36. Titus 2:13 tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, theos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, sōtēr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.
37. Titus 2:14 tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).
38. Titus 2:14 tn Or “a people who are his very own.”
39. Titus 2:14 tn Grk “for good works.”
40. Titus 2:15 tn Or “reproof,” “censure.” The Greek word ἐλέγχω (elenchō) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.
41. Titus 2:15 tn Grk “speak these things and exhort and rebuke with all authority.”
42. Titus 2:15 tn Or “let anyone despise you”; or “let anyone disregard you.”
43. Titus 3:1 tc Most later witnesses (D¹ 0278 1241 1505 M lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (archais, “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.
44. Titus 3:2 tn Or “discredit,” “damage the reputation of.”
45. Titus 3:4 tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA²⁸. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.
46. Titus 3:6 tn Or “on us richly.”
47. Titus 3:7 tn This is the conclusion of a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek encompassing Titus 3:4-7. Showing the goal of God’s merciful salvation, v. 7 begins literally, “in order that, being justified…we might become heirs…”
48. Titus 3:7 tn Grk “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
49. Titus 3:8 sn This saying (Grk “the saying”) refers to the preceding citation (Titus 3:4-7). See 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11 for other occurrences of this phrase.
50. Titus 3:8 tn Grk “concerning these things.”
51. Titus 3:9 tn Cf. 1 Tim 1:4.
52. Titus 3:9 sn Fights about the law were characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus as well as in Crete (cf. 1 Tim 1:3-7; Titus 1:10, 14).
53. Titus 3:11 tn Grk “knowing” (as a continuation of the previous clause).
54. Titus 3:11 tn Grk “is perverted and is sinning.”
55. Titus 3:11 tn Grk “is sinning, being self-condemned.”
56. Titus 3:13 tn Grk “Eagerly help.”
57. Titus 3:13 tn Although it is possible the term νομικός (nomikos) indicates an expert in Jewish religious law here, according to L&N 33.338 and 56.37 it is more probable that Zenas was a specialist in civil law.
58. Titus 3:13 tn Grk “that nothing may be lacking for them.”
59. Titus 3:14 tn Grk “that those who are ours” (referring to the Christians).
60. Titus 3:14 tn Grk “and also let our people learn.”
61. Titus 3:15 tn Or “faithfully.”
62. Titus 3:15 tc Most witnesses (א² D¹ F G H Ψ 0278 1241 1505 M lat sy bo) conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amēn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, early and excellent witnesses (א* A C D* 048 33 81 1739 1881 sa) lack the particle, rendering the omission the preferred reading.