# Titus 2.10 **Book:** [Titus](/codex/titus/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 8. sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of us. 9. Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters, and to be well-pleasing to them in all things; not gainsaying; > > **10. not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.** > > 11. For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12. instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; (Titus 2:8-12, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 8. and soundness of speech that can’t be condemned; that he who opposes you may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say about us. 9. Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters, and to be well-pleasing in all things; not contradicting; > > **10. not stealing, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, in all things.** > > 11. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12. instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; (Titus 2:8-12, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 8. Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. 9. Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; answering: or, gainsaying > > **10. Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.** > > 11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, hath: or, to all men, hath appeared 12. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:8-12, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 8. discourse sound, irreprehensible, that he who is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say concerning you. 9. Servants, to their own masters [are] to be subject, in all things to be well-pleasing, not gainsaying, > > **10. not purloining, but showing all good stedfastness, that the teaching of God our Saviour they may adorn in all things.** > > 11. For the saving grace of God was manifested to all men, 12. teaching us, that denying the impiety and the worldly desires, soberly and righteously and piously we may live in the present age, (Titus 2:8-12, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** [Paul](/codex/paul-the-apostle/), who opens the letter as "a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ" (1:1). Authorship of the three Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus) is disputed. Many critical scholars hold that a later follower wrote them in Paul's name, pointing to differences of vocabulary and style from the undisputed letters and to a more settled church order. Others defend Paul's authorship, among them William Mounce (Word Biblical Commentary, 2000) and Philip Towner (NICNT, 2006), citing the letter's personal details and travel plans (3:12-13). - **Audience:** Titus, "my true child after a common faith" (1:4). He was a Greek convert whom Paul took up to Jerusalem and who, "being a Greek", was not "compelled to be circumcised" (Galatians 2:1-3), and later Paul's envoy to Corinth, "my partner and my fellow-worker to you-ward" (2 Corinthians 8:23). Acts never names him. Paul had left him on Crete "that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city" (1:5). - **Location:** addressed to Titus on Crete. Paul's own location is not stated; he says only that he has decided to winter at Nicopolis (3:12). The note at the end of the letter in the KJV, naming "Nicopolis of Macedonia", is a later scribal subscription, not part of the original text. - **Time period:** on Pauline authorship, usually c. AD 62-66, after Paul's release from the Roman imprisonment that ends Acts. Acts records no mission on Crete; Paul passes the island only as a prisoner bound for Rome (Acts 27:7-13). Scholars who regard the letter as pseudonymous usually place it late in the first century or early in the second. The reading below does not depend on the choice. - **Literary context:** the instructions to slaves (2:9-10), the last of the groups addressed in 2:1-10 (aged men, aged women, young women, younger men, slaves). The grounding in God's grace follows immediately (2:11-14). ## Theological reading "not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." (Titus 2:10, ASV) **Not purloining.** The verb means to set aside for oneself, to pilfer. It is the word used of Ananias, who "kept back part of the price" of his land (Acts 5:2). Slaves who handled a household's goods had ready opportunity for petty theft; the instruction asks instead for "all good fidelity". **Adorn the doctrine.** The purpose clause is striking. People at the bottom of the household order are given the task of making "the doctrine of God our Saviour" attractive "in all things". The surrounding instructions share the same outward concern: young women are to live "that the word of God be not blasphemed" (2:5), and Titus's own speech is to leave the opponent "no evil thing to say of us" (2:8). The next verse explains why slaves are included: "the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men" (2:11). **Reading it rightly.** The verse regulates conduct inside a social order the church did not control; it does not endorse that order. Paul elsewhere tells a slave who can gain freedom to "use it rather" (1 Corinthians 7:21), and lists "menstealers" among the lawless (1 Timothy 1:10). See [Titus 2.9-10](/codex/titus-2-9-10/), [Slavery](/codex/slavery/) and [Biblical Slavery Objection Defeater](/codex/biblical-slavery-objection-defeater/). ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet. ## Quoted in **Lexicon:** - [G1401 - doulos](/codex/g1401-doulos/), via [Titus 2.9-10](/codex/titus-2-9-10/) - [G4990 - soter](/codex/g4990-soter/), via [Titus 2.10-13](/codex/titus-2-10-13/) **Passages:** - [Titus 2.7](/codex/titus-2-7/) ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.