1:1 From Paul, 4 a slave 5 of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith 6 of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,
2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 7 2:12 It trains us 8 to reject godless ways 9 and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing 10 of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 11 2:14 He 12 gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, 13 who are eager to do good. 14
1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 1:6 An elder must be blameless, 18 the husband of one wife, 19 with faithful children 20 who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 1:7 For the overseer 21 must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, 22 not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.
1 sn Those myths refer to legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 1:4; 2 Tim 4:4; and Titus 1:14.
2 tn Grk “the godless and old-wifely myths.”
3 tn Grk “bodily training” (using the noun form of the verb “train” in v. 7b).
4 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
5 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.). The most accurate 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.
6 tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”
7 tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.
8 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.
9 tn Grk “ungodliness.”
10 tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”
11 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, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) 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.
12 tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).
13 tn Or “a people who are his very own.”
14 tn Grk “for good works.”
15 tn Or “sensible.”
16 sn Temperate…in endurance. See the same cluster of virtues in 1 Thess 1:3 and 1 Cor 13:13.
17 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.
18 tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 tn Grk “as God’s steward.”