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).
