Paragraph 3:9–11

In this paragraph Paul gave his final instructions to Titus and the Christians on the island of Crete. He told them to avoid foolish arguments and to avoid people who cause division among Christians.

3:9a

But: The word But indicates that verse 3:9 contrasts with the previous verses. In 3:4-8 Paul wrote about parts of the Christian faith that were “excellent and profitable” for everyone. But now he will talk about things that are not excellent or profitable for people.

avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law: Paul lists four things that Titus should avoid. None of these are physical items. They all refer to actions that Titus should not get involved in. So in some languages it may be more natural to use a different verb or verbs. For example:

do not get involved in foolish controversies, in discussing genealogies, or in arguing and quarreling about the law
-or-
do not take part in foolish arguments about controversial things and family histories. Do not argue or quarrel about the law.

foolish controversies: Titus must avoid foolish controversies. These are foolish issues that people argue about unnecessarily.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

stupid arguments (Good News Bible)
-or-
foolish discussions (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

genealogies: Paul told Titus to avoid genealogies. A “genealogy” is a list of the names of ancestors.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

lists of ancestors
-or-
family histories

Paul did not condemn all genealogies. The Bible contains many genealogies. It seems that Paul wanted Titus not to argue about genealogies. We do not know exactly which genealogies Paul was talking about, but it was something to do with religion, and something that people studied and argued about.

In 1 Timothy 1:4 Paul spoke to Timothy about a similar problem with genealogies.

arguments, and quarrels about the law: The law here refers to the Jewish law, the law that God gave to Moses. The words arguments and quarrels are similar in meaning. Both words refer to fighting with words, not physical fighting. If your language does not have two words for arguments and quarrels you can combine them and say:

arguments about the Jewish law

3:9b

because these things are pointless and worthless: In 3:8 Paul said that Christian teachings were “excellent and profitable.” Now, in contrast, he said that arguing about unimportant things was pointless and worthless.

In some languages it may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Also, you may want to repeat the main verb “avoid.” For example:

Avoid these arguments because they do not help anyone and are useless.

because: The word because here introduces the reason why Titus must avoid meaningless arguments. He must avoid them because they do not help anyone and they are of no use.

pointless: The word pointless means “of no help.” Things that are pointless do not help us to grow in the Christian faith. This is the opposite of the word translated as “profitable” in 3:8d.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

they do not help us to grow in the faith
-or-
nothing is gained from them

worthless: The word worthless means “useless” or “futile.” It is similar in meaning to “pointless.”

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

useless
-or-
empty
-or-
a waste of time (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

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