Psa 90, Tit | ESV | STEP | A Prayer of Moses , the man of God . Lord , you have been our dwelling place in all generations .

1 Lord, you have been our ^cdwelling place ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Septuagint) our refuge}
in all generations.
2 ^eBefore the ^fmountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
^gfrom everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, ^h“Return, ⁱO children of man!” ^{▼▼Or of Adam}
4 For ^ka thousand years in your sight
are but as ^lyesterday when it is past,
or as ^ma watch in the night.
5 You ⁿsweep them away as with a flood; they are like ^oa dream,
like ^pgrass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in ^qthe morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it ^rfades and ^swithers.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have ^tset our iniquities before you,
our ^usecret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span ^{▼▼Or pride} is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 ^wSo teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 ^xReturn, O Lord! ^yHow long?
Have ^zpity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the ^aamorning with your steadfast love,
that we may ^abrejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have ^acafflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your ^adwork be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the ^aefavor ^{▼▼Or beauty} of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish ^agthe work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!

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

1 Paul, a servant ^{▼▼Or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)} of God and ^aian apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and ^ajtheir knowledge of the truth, ^akwhich accords with godliness, 2 ^alin hope of eternal life, which God, ^amwho never lies, ^anpromised ^aobefore the ages began ^{▼▼Greek before times eternal} 3 and ^aqat the proper time manifested in his word ^arthrough the preaching ^aswith which I have been entrusted ^atby the command of God our Savior;

4 To Titus, ^aumy true child in ^ava common faith:

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

Qualifications for Elders

5 ^axThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and ^ayappoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 ^azif 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 ^bcdebauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, ^{▼▼Or bishop; Greek episkopos} ^beas God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not ^bfbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent ^bgor greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^bhand disciplined. 9 He must ^bihold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^bjsound ^{▼▼Or healthy; also verse 13} doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, ^blempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^bmthe circumcision party. ^{▼▼Or especially those of the circumcision} 11 They must be silenced, since ^bothey are upsetting whole families by teaching ^bpfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 ^bqOne 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} 13 This testimony is true. Therefore ^btrebuke them ^busharply, that they ^bvmay be sound in the faith, 14 ^bwnot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and ^bxthe commands of people ^bywho turn away from the truth. 15 ^bzTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and ^caunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ^cbtheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 ^ccThey profess to know God, but they ^cddeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, ^ceunfit for any good work.

Titus 2

Teach Sound Doctrine

1 But as for you, teach what accords with ^cfsound ^{▼▼Or healthy; also verses 2, 8} doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, ^chsound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 ^ciOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, ^cjnot slanderers ^ckor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, ^clpure, ^cmworking at home, kind, and ^cnsubmissive to their own husbands, ^cothat the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge ^cpthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be ^cqa model of good works, and in your teaching ^crshow integrity, ^csdignity, 8 and ^ctsound speech that cannot be condemned, ^cuso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 ^cvBondservants ^{▼▼Or Slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)} are to be submissive to their own masters ^cxin everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, ^cybut showing all good faith, ^czso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11 For ^dathe grace of God ^dbhas appeared, bringing salvation ^dcfor all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and ^ddworldly passions, and ^deto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in ^dfthe present age, 13 ^dgwaiting for our blessed ^dhhope, the ^diappearing of the glory of our great ^djGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 ^dkwho gave himself for us to ^dlredeem us from all lawlessness and ^dmto purify for himself ^dna people for his own possession who are ^dozealous for good works.

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

Titus 3

Be Ready for Every Good Work

1 Remind them ^drto be submissive to rulers and authorities, ^dsto be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 ^dtto speak evil of no one, ^duto avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and ^dvto show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For ^dwwe 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. 4 But when ^dxthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, ^dynot because of works done by us in righteousness, but ^dzaccording to his own mercy, by ^eathe washing of regeneration and ^ebrenewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he ^ecpoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that ^edbeing justified by his grace we might become ^eeheirs ^efaccording to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is ^egtrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful ^ehto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9 But ^eiavoid foolish ^ejcontroversies, ^ekgenealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for ^elthey are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, ^emafter warning him once and then twice, ^enhave nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

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

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

^etGrace be with you all.

Psalms 90

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A aPrayer of Moses, the bman of God.