Luke 1:6

1:6 They ¹  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ²  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ³ 

Luke 2:25

The Prophecy of Simeon

2:25 Now ⁴  there was a man in Jerusalem ⁵  named Simeon who was righteous ⁶  and devout, looking for the restoration ⁷  of Israel, and the Holy Spirit ⁸  was upon him.

Acts 10:22

10:22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion, ⁹  a righteous ¹⁰  and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, ¹¹  was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message ¹²  from you.”

Acts 24:16

24:16 This is the reason ¹³  I do my best to always ¹⁴  have a clear ¹⁵  conscience toward God and toward people. ¹⁶ 

Philippians 4:8

4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, ¹⁷  whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

Titus 2:10-14

2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ¹⁸  in order to bring credit to ¹⁹  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ²⁰  2:12 It trains us ²¹  to reject godless ways ²²  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 ²³  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ²⁴  2:14 He ²⁵  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ²⁶  who are eager to do good. ²⁷ 

Titus 2:1

Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching

2:1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with ²⁸  sound teaching.

Titus 2:9-13

2:9 Slaves ²⁹  are to be subject to their own masters in everything, ³⁰  to do what is wanted and not talk back, 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ³¹  in order to bring credit to ³²  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ³³  2:12 It trains us ³⁴  to reject godless ways ³⁵  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 ³⁶  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ³⁷ 

Titus 2:2

2:2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, ³⁸  sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. ³⁹ 

Titus 1:3-7

1:3 But now in his own time ⁴⁰  he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior. 1:4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!

Titus’ Task on Crete

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, ⁴¹  the husband of one wife, ⁴²  with faithful children ⁴³  who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 1:7 For the overseer ⁴⁴  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ⁴⁵  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:6]  ² tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

[1:6]  ³ tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).

[2:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:25]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:25]  ⁶ tn Grk “This man was righteous.” The Greek text begins a new sentence here, but this was changed to a relative clause in the translation to avoid redundancy.

[2:25]  ⁷ tn Or “deliverance,” “consolation.”

[2:25]  ⁸ sn Once again, by mentioning the Holy Spirit, Luke stresses the prophetic enablement of a speaker. The Spirit has fallen on both men (Zechariah, 1:67) and women (Elizabeth, 1:41) in Luke 1–2 as they share the will of the Lord.

[10:22]  ⁹ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[10:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “just.”

[10:22]  ¹¹ tn The phrase τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων (tou eqnou" twn Ioudaiwn) is virtually a technical term for the Jewish nation (1 Macc 10:25; 11:30, 33; Josephus, Ant. 14.10.22 [14.248]). “All the Jewish people,” while another possible translation of the Greek phrase, does not convey the technical sense of a reference to the nation in English.

[10:22]  ¹² tn Grk “hear words.”

[24:16]  ¹³ tn BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 9.a, “ἐν τούτῳ πιστεύομεν this is the reason why we believe Jn 16:30; cp. Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 224 s.v. διά 2.a, “διὰ παντός…always, continually, constantly…Ac 2:25 (Ps 15:8); 10:2; 24:16.” However, the positioning of the adverb “always” in the English translation is difficult; the position used is one of the least awkward.

[24:16]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀπρόσκοπος 1 has “ἀ. συνείδησις a clear conscience Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use (Paul does not have only males in view).

[4:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[2:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[2:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.

[2:12]  ²¹ 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.

[2:12]  ²² tn Grk “ungodliness.”

[2:13]  ²³ tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ²⁴ 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.

[2:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ²⁶ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ²⁷ tn Grk “for good works.”

[2:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “say what is fitting for sound teaching” (introducing the behavior called for in this chapter.).

[2:9]  ²⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[2:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “to be subject to their own masters, to do what is wanted in everything.”

[2:10]  ³¹ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ³² tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[2:11]  ³³ tn Grk “all men”; but ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpois) is generic here, referring to both men and women.

[2:12]  ³⁴ 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.

[2:12]  ³⁵ tn Grk “ungodliness.”

[2:13]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ³⁷ 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.

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “sensible.”

[2:2]  ³⁹ sn Temperate…in endurance. See the same cluster of virtues in 1 Thess 1:3 and 1 Cor 13:13.

[1:3]  ⁴⁰ 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.

[1:6]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.

[1:6]  ⁴² 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.

[1:6]  ⁴³ 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.

[1:7]  ⁴⁴ 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.

[1:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”