Psalms 121:1

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of ^aAscents.

1 I ^blift up my eyes to ^cthe hills.
From where does my help come?

Psalms 122:1

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of ^dAscents. Of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me,
^e“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Psalms 123:1

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^fAscents.

1 To you I ^glift up my eyes,
O you who are ^henthroned in the heavens!

Psalms 124:1

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of ⁱAscents. Of David.

1 ^jIf it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
^klet Israel now say—

Psalms 125:1

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of ^lAscents.

1 Those who ^mtrust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which ⁿcannot be moved, but abides forever.

Psalms 126:1

Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

A Song of ^oAscents.

1 When the Lord ^prestored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who ^qdream.

Psalms 127:1

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of ^rAscents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord ^swatches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.

Psalms 128:1

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of ^tAscents.

1 ^uBlessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who ^vwalks in his ways!

Psalms 129:1

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of ^wAscents.

1 “Greatly ▼

▼Or Often; also verse 2

have they ^yafflicted me ^zfrom my youth”—
^aalet Israel now say—

This pastoral letter from Paul to Titus was intended to offer encouragement and wisdom as Titus endured ongoing opposition from the ungodly and from legalists within his congregations. Paul instructed Titus to complete his assigned job of establishing overseers (elders) for the churches under his care. He described what sort of people these leaders should be, and how all believers should live in relation to each other as well as in their interactions with nonbelievers. Proper Christian behavior is based on the fact that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,” and therefore those who believe in Christ are to “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives” as they await his return (2:11-13). Paul probably wrote this letter in the 60s a.d.

Titus 1

Greeting

1Paul, a servant ▼

▼Or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)

of God and ^acan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and ^adtheir knowledge of the truth, ^aewhich accords with godliness, 2 ^afin hope of eternal life, which God, ^agwho never lies, ^ahpromised ^aibefore the ages began ▼

▼Greek before times eternal

3and ^akat the proper time manifested in his word ^althrough the preaching ^amwith which I have been entrusted ^anby the command of God our Savior;

4To Titus, ^aomy true child in ^apa common faith:

^aqGrace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

5 ^arThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and ^asappoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 ^atif anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, ▼

▼Or a man of one woman

and his children are believers ▼

▼Or  are faithful

and not open to the charge of ^awdebauchery or insubordination. 7For an overseer, ▼

▼Or bishop; Greek episkopos

^ayas God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not ^azbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent ^baor greedy for gain, 8but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^bband disciplined. 9He must ^bchold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^bdsound ▼

▼Or healthy; also verse 13

doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10For there are many who are insubordinate, ^bfempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^bgthe circumcision party. ▼

▼Or  especially those of the circumcision

11They must be silenced, since ^bithey are upsetting whole families by teaching ^bjfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 ^bkOne of the Cretans, ▼

▼Greek  One of them

a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ▼

▼Probably from Epimenides of Crete

13This testimony is true. Therefore ^bnrebuke them ^bosharply, that they ^bpmay be sound in the faith, 14 ^bqnot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and ^brthe commands of people ^bswho turn away from the truth. 15 ^btTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and ^buunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ^bvtheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 ^bwThey profess to know God, but they ^bxdeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, ^byunfit for any good work.

Titus 2

Teach Sound Doctrine

1But as for you, teach what accords with ^bzsound ▼

▼Or healthy; also verses 2, 8

doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, ^cbsound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 ^ccOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, ^cdnot slanderers ^ceor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, ^cfpure, ^cgworking at home, kind, and ^chsubmissive to their own husbands, ^cithat the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge ^cjthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be ^cka model of good works, and in your teaching ^clshow integrity, ^cmdignity, 8and ^cnsound speech that cannot be condemned, ^coso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 ^cpBondservants ▼

▼Or Slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)

are to be submissive to their own masters ^crin everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10not pilfering, ^csbut showing all good faith, ^ctso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11For ^cuthe grace of God ^cvhas appeared, bringing salvation ^cwfor all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and ^cxworldly passions, and ^cyto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in ^czthe present age, 13 ^dawaiting for our blessed ^dbhope, the ^dcappearing of the glory of our great ^ddGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 ^dewho gave himself for us to ^dfredeem us from all lawlessness and ^dgto purify for himself ^dha people for his own possession who are ^dizealous for good works.

15Declare these things; exhort and ^djrebuke with all authority. ^dkLet no one disregard you.

Titus 3

Be Ready for Every Good Work

1Remind them ^dlto be submissive to rulers and authorities, ^dmto be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 ^dnto speak evil of no one, ^doto avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and ^dpto show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3For ^dqwe ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4But when ^drthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, ^dsnot because of works done by us in righteousness, but ^dtaccording to his own mercy, by ^duthe washing of regeneration and ^dvrenewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he ^dwpoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that ^dxbeing justified by his grace we might become ^dyheirs ^dzaccording to the hope of eternal life. 8The saying is ^eatrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful ^ebto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9But ^ecavoid foolish ^edcontroversies, ^eegenealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for ^efthey are unprofitable and worthless. 10As for a person who stirs up division, ^egafter warning him once and then twice, ^ehhave nothing more to do with him, 11knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

12When I send Artemas or ^eiTychicus to you, do your best to come to me ^ejat Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and ^ekApollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14And let our people learn ^elto devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not ^embe unfruitful.

15All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

^enGrace be with you all.