3:5a
He saved us: In Greek the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as saved is the main verb of this long sentence (3:4–7). The pronoun He refers to God our Savior, from 3:4. The pronoun us refers to Paul, Titus, and all believers, all God’s people.
3:5b
not by the righteous deeds we had done: This verse part explains that God did not save his people on the grounds of any good works that they had done. Their righteous acts were not the cause of or reason for their salvation. They did nothing to contribute to it. Their salvation is not a reward for their good deeds.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
it was not because of any upright actions we had done ourselves (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
not because we had done righteous deeds
In some languages it may be natural to begin a new sentence here. For example:
He did not save us because of any righteous things we had done
-or-
It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. (New International Reader’s Version)
righteous deeds we had done: This phrase is more literally “works that we did in righteousness.” Paul did not make it clear whether or not people had in fact ever done any righteous deeds. Try to leave this open or ambiguous. For example:
any good deeds that we have done
-or-
good things we might have done
righteous deeds: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as righteous deeds refers to behaving or acting in righteous ways, deeds done in obedience to God’s laws. Other ways to translate this include:
upright actions (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
good works/deeds
-or-
things that are good in God’s sight
3:5c
but according to His mercy: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but here introduces a strong contrast. Paul now gave the real or true reason why God acted to save us. The reason was his own mercy. Here are some other ways to translate this:
Rather, he saved us because he had mercy on us.
-or-
No, it was because of his mercy that he saved us.
His mercy: This phrase refers to God’s mercy, that is, God’s compassion for us. In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a clause with a verb. For example:
God had mercy on us
-or-
God showed us kindness
General Comment on 3:5a-c
In some languages it may be natural to reorder the information in these verse parts and put the positive statement first (5c) and the negative second (5b). God saved us because of his mercy. It was not because of our good deeds that he saved us. For example:
5aHe saved us 5cbecause of his mercy. 5bIt was not because of the righteous things that we had done.
3:5d
through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit: In Greek this complex phrase can be understood in a number of different ways. Here are the main options:
(1) The Holy Spirit is the agent of one action, renewal. God saved people by means of two things: the washing of new birth and the renewal that was given or caused by the Holy Spirit. For example:
through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit (NET Bible)
(2) The Holy Spirit is the agent of two actions (new birth, renewal). God saved people by means of one thing: washing them. This washing can be explained or understood as the new birth and renewal of the Holy Spirit. For example:
through the washing in which the Holy Spirit gives us new birth and renewal (God’s Word)
(3) The Holy Spirit is the agent of three actions (washing, new birth, renewal). God saved people through these three actions of the Holy Spirit. For example:
through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us (Good News Bible)
All these options have wide support among scholars, and all can be defended from the Greek sentence structure. Some English translations (such as the Berean Standard Bible) are ambiguous or unclear. These Notes and Display follow interpretation (1).
through: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as through here introduces the means by which God saves people. Following interpretation (1) above, there are two means: “washing of rebirth” and “renewal by the Holy Spirit.” So in some languages it may be natural to repeat the word through and translate the entire phrase as:
through washing of rebirth and through renewal by/of the Holy Spirit
the washing of new birth: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as washing here means “cleansing.” It probably refers to inward cleansing, that is, to purifying people from sin. This washing or cleansing is symbolized by baptism. The phrase washing of new birth probably identifies washing as a new birth, that is, inward cleansing is a kind of rebirth, or results in new birth. For example:
cleansing us, causing us to receive new birth
new birth: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as new birth means “new beginning.” This word also occurs in Matthew to refer to the new creation. In this context it refers to the new beginning in someone’s life when they receive new life and become a Christian. Other NT writers use the figure of speech “born again” to refer to the event of becoming a Christian (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:3, 1:23). If you have already translated these passages, check the expression you used there before deciding what to do here. Other ways to translate this include:
God gave us new birth/life
-or-
God enabled us to begin to live in a new way
-or-
God caused us to follow a new path
renewal: The Greek word the Berean Standard Bible translates as renewal means “new beginning” in the sense of “a fresh start.” This word also occurs in Romans 12:2. In this context it has a similar meaning to “new birth.” The difference between the two is that the word for “new birth” indicates the starting point of new life, and the word for renewal refers to the new type of life that results from that new birth. Here are some other ways to translate this:
new life (Good News Bible)
-or-
making us/believers new people
by the Holy Spirit: As described in the note earlier in this verse part, scholars do not agree as to which action or actions Paul was referring as performed by the Holy Spirit. It is recommended that you translate this as referring to the action of “renewal,” that is, the Holy Spirit is the one who renews God’s people.
© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.