Leviticus 11:47

11:47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creatures that must not be eaten.’”

Leviticus 20:25-26

20:25 Therefore you must distinguish ¹  between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, and you must not make yourselves detestable by means of an animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground – creatures ²  I have distinguished for you as unclean. ³  20:26 You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.

Jeremiah 15:19

15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, ⁴ 

“You must repent of such words and thoughts!

If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. ⁵ 

If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,

I will again allow you to be my spokesman. ⁶ 

They must become as you have been.

You must not become like them. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 22:26

22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, ⁸  or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore ⁹  my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst.

Ezekiel 44:23

44:23 Moreover, they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the ceremonially unclean and the clean. ¹⁰ 

Titus 1:15

1:15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹¹  a slave ¹²  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ¹³  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Titus 1:14-16

1:14 and not pay attention to Jewish myths ¹⁴  and commands of people who reject the truth. 1:15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 1:16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

¹ tn Heb “And you shall distinguish.” The verb is the same as “set apart” at the end of the previous verse. The fact that God had “set them apart” from the other peoples roundabout them called for them to “distinguish between” the clean and the unclean, etc.

² tn The word “creatures” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear that the following relative clause modifies the animal, bird, or creeping thing mentioned earlier, and not the ground itself.

³ tc The MT has “to defile,” but Smr, LXX, and Syriac have “to uncleanness.”

⁴ tn Heb “So the Lord said thus.”

⁵ tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, ‘cause you to return’] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.

⁶ tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”

⁷ tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”

⁸ tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”

⁹ tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).

¹⁰ sn This task was a fundamental role of the priest (Lev 10:10).

¹¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

¹² 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.

¹³ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

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.