3:13a
Do your best to equip Zenas the lawyer and Apollos: Paul wanted Titus to help Zenas and Apollos while they traveled. It is not clear where Zenas and Apollos were when Paul was writing this letter. There are two possibilities:
• These two men were with Paul and he knew that they were soon going to Crete. Possibly they were the ones who took this letter to Titus. Most commentators hold this view.
• These two men were on Crete with Titus, and that they were about to leave on a trip. A few commentators hold this view.
In your translation, try not to be specific about where these men were because Paul did not give us this information.
Do your best: This translates the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “make every effort” in 3:12b. Paul wanted Titus to try hard to help these two men.
to equip: This phrase refers to helping travelers as they set out on a journey. See Acts 15:3; and 1 Corinthians 16:6.
Zenas the lawyer: Zenas is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. If you do not have a word for lawyer in your language, you could say “law expert,” or “person who is an expert in the civil law.” This was his profession. Zenas was probably working in the field of Roman civil law, not the Jewish religious law, the law of Moses.
Apollos: Most scholars think that this is the Apollos mentioned in Acts 18:24 and in 1 Corinthians 3:4–22. Spell his name the same way in each of these places.
3:13b
so that they will have everything they need: The Greek phrase is more literally “so that nothing to them is lacking.” Paul asked Titus to give Zenas and Apollos everything they needed for their journey. This might include money, food, and clothing.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
see that they lack nothing (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
make sure that they have everything that they need for their journey (Easy English Bible)
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