Paul continues to define the Christian’s behavior and attitude toward people in general, including and especially non-Christians. This consists of four items, two negative and two positive.

Speak evil is literally “blaspheme,” for which see 1 Tim 1.13 and 20. In the New Testament the usual meaning of the verb is to speak evil against a spiritual being, as, for example, God, or the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it also means to insult and slander other people, which is the case in the present context. In many languages it will be expressed as “say bad (or, evil) things about.” No one coupled with all men at the end of the verse stresses the fact that Christians should act in an appropriate manner toward all people.

The word for avoid quarreling is a combination of a negative prefix and a word that comes from the verb “to fight, to quarrel,” either by words or by actions. This negative focus can be retained (as, for example, New English Bible “not to pick quarrels”); however, it is also possible to translate the word positively (for example, Good News Translation “peaceful,” New International Version “peaceable”). See further on “not quarrelsome” in 1 Tim 3.3.

For gentle see 1 Tim 3.3. The word describes a person who is not only gentle but fair, patient, and considerate in dealing with others (so Jerusalem Bible “courteous,” Phillips “reasonable”).

For show see 1 Tim 1.16, where it is translated “display.”

For perfect courtesy see 1 Tim 6.11, where the word is translated “gentleness.” There is an overlap of meaning between this and the preceding term gentle, as the following translations show, arranged according to Revised Standard Version equivalents of gentle – perfect courtesy:
“friendly – show a gentle attitude” (Good News Translation)
“considerate – show true humility” (New International Version)
“courteous – always polite” (Jerusalem Bible)
“show forbearance – show a consistently gentle disposition” (New English Bible)
“reasonable – showing every consideration” (Phillips)

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Titus. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .