Passage
Titus 2.9
Book: Titus · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV
7. in all things showing thyself an ensample of good works; in thy doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, 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;
- 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, (Titus 2:7-11, ASV)
WEB
7. in all things showing yourself an example of good works; in your teaching showing integrity, seriousness, incorruptibility, 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;
- 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, (Titus 2:7-11, WEB)
KJV
7. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 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
- 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 (Titus 2:7-11, KJV)
YLT
7. concerning all things thyself showing a pattern of good works; in the teaching uncorruptedness, gravity, incorruptibility, 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,
- 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, (Titus 2:7-11, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: Paul, who names himself "a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ" in the opening verse. The phrase doulos theou, servant of God, is unusual for him; he normally writes servant of Christ.
- Audience: Titus, a Gentile co-worker whom Paul had declined to have circumcised (Galatians 2:1-3), addressed as "my true child after a common faith."
- Location: Written to Titus on Crete, where Paul had left him "that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city." Paul's own location is not stated; he mentions only an intention to winter at Nicopolis (Titus 3:12).
- Time period: Traditionally dated to about AD 62 to 66, after a first Roman imprisonment. Pauline authorship of the Pastoral Epistles is disputed in critical scholarship, on vocabulary and church-order grounds; the letter presents itself as Paul's.
Theological reading
The instruction to douloi addresses people held as property in a Roman household, and the letter gives no theological warrant for the institution; it addresses people inside it. The stated goal in verse 10 is that they "may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things," which assigns to the least powerful members of the household the task of making the gospel attractive. Any use of this passage has to reckon with Philemon 16 and with the letter's own logic, which locates dignity in the slave's testimony rather than in the master's authority.
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; see Lexicon Roadmap.
- G1401 - doulos, doulos, Strong's G1401
- G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
Concepts:
Lexicon:
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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- 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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.