self-controlled

The Greek that is translated as “self-controlled” in English is translated in the following ways:

  • Isthmus Mixe: “he should make decisions slowly” / “that they shouldn’t act in a strange manner”
  • Tabasco Chontal: “they shouldn’t go vainly doing things which are not good”
  • Ojitlán Chinantec: “to walk right and straight” (source: John Beekman & Harwood Hess in Notes on Translation, March 1963, p. 1ff.)

    • See also self-control.

hospitable

The now commonly-used German expression gastfrei, literally meaning “generous toward guests,” was first coined in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 72)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

See also practice hospitality and hospitality.

confidence / calm

In Gbaya, the notion of confidence or calm (or the opposite when negated) is emphasized with mgbítíŋ, an ideophone used to express the fact of being calm, secure, confident.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

See also secure / safe.

complete verse (Titus 1:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Titus 1:8:

  • Uma: “People whom you raise to become religious leaders must be people who are open [lit., friendly/extrovertish] to having-visitors, remain/faithful in doing good, their hearts must be clear and straight, their actions must be holy and they must be able to hold-in-check the evil desires of their hearts.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “If he has visitors he must really honor them/treat them according to custom and he must be pleased with everything good. He must be able to control himself and he must be straight/righteous. He ought to follow God wholeheartedly/(lit. entirely his liver) and he ought not to indulge his desires/greedy-desires.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He must be one who cares for his guests. And it is also necessary that what he really wants to do is to help people. He knows how to think properly. He is a righteous person, and God is pleased with his deeds. He knows how to constrain the desires of his body.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “but rather he must be consistently-hospitable and consistently-love what is good. He must also be a reflective and circumspect person who is able-to-control himself (lit. his body). He must also be righteous (lit. straight) and holy.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “On the contrary, it’s necessary that he welcomes people well who need to stay at his house. He prefers doing good works, knows how to control himself, he is righteous/straight and desirous that he be pleasing to God. And he no longer indulges evil desires.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “He must be a person who gives a resting place to others in his house. He must like to do what is good. He must control his heart. He must be a good person. He must reverence God. He must guard himself well.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Titus 1:8

This verse enumerates the six virtues that elders must possess. As in the previous case, only those not mentioned in 1 Timothy will be discussed.

For hospitable see 1 Tim 3.2 and elsewhere,

Lover of goodness appears only here in the whole New Testament. It describes someone who not only loves good things but likes to do them as well (so Jerusalem Bible “a friend of all that is good,” Phillips “a genuine lover of what is good,” Contemporary English Version “enjoy doing good things”).

Master of himself is the same word translated “temperate” in 1 Tim 3.2. The word is derived from a verb that means “to behave in a sensible manner”; hence “self-controlled” (Good News Translation), “discreet” (Phillips). A related meaning is being moderate and balanced in one’s behavior; hence “temperate” (Revised English Bible), “self-restrained” (Translator’s New Testament).

Upright is literally “righteous,” here used to refer either to morally and ethically acceptable behavior, or to fairness in dealing with others (so Phillips “fair-minded,” Contemporary English Version “fair”). See further on 1 Tim 1.9, where Revised Standard Version has “just” and Good News Translation has “good people.” Since the ethical aspects are covered by the traits that come immediately before and after upright, it seems best to follow the second alternative, and therefore “fair,” “impartial,” or “unbiased” are all good models.

Holy is used here in an ethical sense, referring to an attitude of complete dedication to everything that is good and acceptable to God. See further on 1 Tim 2.8.

Self-controlled translates a word that is derived from the verb that means “to exercise self-control” or “to have self-discipline,” especially in relation to sinful desires.

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on Titus 1:8

1:8a

Instead: This conjunction indicates a contrast. The contrast is between verse 7 and verse 8. In 1:7b–d, Paul gave five ways church leaders should not act. In verse 8 he lists six ways they should act. The Berean Standard Bible indicates this contrast with the conjunction Instead.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Rather (New International Version (2011 Revision))
-or-
But (English Standard Version)

In some languages it is necessary to begin verse 8 with a short sentence like:

No, they should not be like this. Instead…

he must be hospitable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he must be hospitable is more literally just “hospitable.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the verb phrase he must be in order to translate verse 8 as a separate sentence.

The Greek word meaning hospitable comes from root words meaning “friendly, loving” and “stranger, outsider.” A church leader must be a person who is happy to welcome people from outside his family into his home as guests.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

He must be friendly to strangers
-or-
He must be ready to welcome guests

If you have been referring to the church leaders in the plural, continue to do so here. For example:

Overseers must be ready to welcome guests (New Century Version)

See also the notes on 1 Timothy 3:2d, where the same word hospitable is used. Translate it the same way in both verses.

1:8b

a lover of good: This phrase indicates that a church leader must be someone who is happy to do what is right and good. Again, Paul was speaking of church leaders in general, and in some languages it may be more natural to use the plural.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

and enjoy doing good things (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
devoted to what is good (NET Bible)
-or-
full of love for whatever is good

In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a clause or sentence. For example:

He must love what is good. (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
Overseers must…love what is good. (New Century Version)

1:8c

self-controlled: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as self-controlled describes a person who is sensible, thoughtful, or prudent. He is in control of himself and so is able to act wisely, calmly, and appropriately in every situation.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

able to control himself (SSA)
-or-
he/they must behave in a sensible manner

This word also occurs in 1 Timothy 3:2c. See how you translated it there. If it is possible and natural, translate it the same way here.

upright: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as upright means “righteous” or “just.” A church leader must behave toward other people in a way that is fair and just.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

must live right (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
he/they must do what is just

1:8d

holy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as holy means “pure” and “wholly devoted to God.” It describes something or someone as being separated to God, set apart for God’s use.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

His ways must be pure.
-or-
His heart must be dedicated to God.

disciplined: This word describes a person who can control his desires and actions. He does things in moderation and not to excess. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

he must control his own desires and actions
-or-
he must be able to control himself

© 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.

Commentaire sur la traduction de Tite 1.8

Paul se tourne maintenant vers les qualités positives que le dirigeant doit posséder (8-9a). En grec la liste des vices est nettement distinguée de celle des vertus par la conjonction contrastive forte ἀλλά alla, « mais ». Plusieurs versions l’omettent, mais il vaudrait mieux l’exprimer, par exemple, en disant, « Mais » ou « Au contraire, il doit être hospitalier… » En grec il n’y a pas de verbe « être », mais la majorité des versions l’insèrent, par exemple, « mais qu’il soit hospitalier » (Nouvelle Bible Segond) ou « Qu’il soit, au contraire, hospitalier » (La Bible du Semeur).

Hospitalier rend un nom composé signifiant « ami de l’étranger ». Voir 1 Tim 3.2. Si un tel terme n’existe pas dans la langue cible, on pourrait dire, comme la Parole de Vie, « Il doit bien recevoir les gens qui viennent chez lui ». Notez que ce mot et le mot qui suit se ressemblent en grec : φιλόξενον φιλάγαθον philoxenon philagathon.

ami du bien rend le mot composé grec qui désigne quelqu’un qui aime « ce qui est bien » (Bible en français courant), et qui, par extension, fait de bonnes actions.

pondéré décrit quelqu’un qui est « maître de soi », qui « se contrôle ». Voir 1 Tim 3.2. On pourrait dire « réfléchi » ou « raisonnable ».

juste : il s’agit de l’adjectif dérivé du nom « justice ». Le mot est employé dans d’autres contextes en 1 Tim 1.9 ; 2 Tim 4.8. Un responsable doit lui-même être un homme juste, mais il doit aussi être juste lorsqu’il prend des décisions qui affectent la communauté, surtout lorsqu’il faut trancher des différends au sein de l’église.

Pour saint, voir 1 Tim 2.8. Dans ce contexte, le mot décrit quelqu’un qui est entièrement consacré à Dieu et à la vie chrétienne.

maître de soi : il s’agit du seul emploi adjectival de cette racine dans le NT et même dans la Septante. Le nom correspondant, maîtrise de soi, s’emploie en Act 24.25 ; Gal 5.23 et deux fois en 2 Pi 1.6. Le verbe correspondant, « se maîtriser », est attesté en 1 Cor 7.9 ; 9.25, dans le contexte d’un athlète discipliné. La maîtrise de soi est une vertu louée aussi par des philosophes non chrétiens, tels qu’Aristote. C’est la contrepartie positive, entre autres, de la colère et de l’alcoolisme que Paul vient de condamner en Tite 1.7.

Source: Zogbo, Lynell & Ellingworth, Paul La lettre à Tite – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.