Titus 3:5 – Page 2

Translation commentary on Titus 3:5

This verse continues the sentence that began in the previous verse; in fact, the main verb (he saved us) is included in this verse. It may be advisable and even necessary to include this main verb with the previous verse and start a new sentence here, as Contemporary English Version has done.

While the previous verse gives the ground, basis, and setting of God’s saving act, this verse gives the reason for this saving act and how it is effected.

The first assertion is that salvation is wholly dependent on God’s mercy and not on human effort of any kind. For saved see 1 Tim 1.15.

For righteousness see 1 Tim 6.11. In the present context deeds done by us in righteousness can be saying “things that we do because we are good” or “good things that we ourselves have done” (so Good News Translation “any good deeds that we ourselves have done”).

In virtue of translates a preposition that can be rendered “in accordance to,” “in the manner of,” “in accordance with.” This means that salvation is solely dependent on God’s mercy, that it is God’s nature as merciful that makes him save us, and that because of God’s mercy he gives us salvation and new life.

For mercy see 1 Tim 1.2. The main element of mercy is not “pity” but “compassion” and “love,” both of which are not deserved by the recipient.

The second half of this verse is rather difficult. A literal translation of the Greek text is as follows: “through (or, by) the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” We will first examine these words separately and then analyze the phrase in its entirety in order to determine what it means.

Washing translates a rare word used only here and in Eph 5.26; it refers to ceremonial washing that is most likely related to baptism. However, the focus here doesn’t seem to be the rite of baptism itself but its function as a means of purification or spiritual cleansing. So in many languages one must say “washes our hearts” or “purifies our hearts.”

Regeneration also translates a rare word, occurring only here and in Matt 19.28. In the Matthean reference it refers to the “renewal” of the world. In the present context the term is used to describe a complete change in one’s way of life; hence “rebirth.”

Likewise the word for renewal appears only twice in the New Testament, here and in Rom 12.2. The term is derived from a verb that means “to cause something or someone to become new,” with the implication that this is a good thing.

What does the expression mean? There are several possibilities.
1. Rebirth and renewal are two separate things, with rebirth relating to washing, and renewal relating to the Holy Spirit. A literal translation of the text tends to suggest this (in addition to Revised Standard Version, see New International Version “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”; Jerusalem Bible “He saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit”). In this understanding we have here two ways by which God saves us: through rebirth that is effected through washing, and through renewal that is effected by the Holy Spirit. Or perhaps rebirth and renewal are two separate stages in the believer’s life, with rebirth equivalent to conversion and being experienced at the time of baptism (which is what washing is), and renewal referring to a subsequent activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
2. Washing is equivalent to rebirth and renewal. This produces a sentence like “He saved us through the washing, that is, the rebirth and renewal that is effected by the Holy Spirit.”
3. Washing is a sign of rebirth and renewal. This produces a sentence like “He saved us by means of the washing that is a sign that we have experienced rebirth and renewal from the Holy Spirit.”
4. Washing as spiritual cleansing is the means by which the Holy Spirit works out rebirth and renewal. This takes the genitive “of the Holy Spirit” as marking the Holy Spirit as agent for both rebirth and renewal that in turn are taken as synonyms. The agent of washing may also be the Holy Spirit, and this information may be made explicit in the translation. However, this is not in focus in the text. This last option is what is preferred in this Handbook.

A possible translation is “God saved us through the power of the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us and making us spiritually clean.”

Alternative translation models for verses 4 and 5 are:

• But when God our Savior showed his love and kindness to us, he saved us. This was not because we ourselves had done any good thing, but because he [God] was merciful to us. He saved us through the power of the Holy Spirit (or, his Spirit), who gives us a new birth and new life by washing our lives and making them pure.

Or:

• But God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. He saved us because he is merciful and not because of any good deeds we have done. Through the power of his Spirit he washed us and caused us to be born again and have new life.

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 3:5

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.

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 3.5

La phrase continue en grec. En effet si Tite 3.4 est rendu par une proposition subordonnée temporelle, « Lorsque… », les traducteurs pourront laisser couler la phrase ici. Mais certaines versions, ayant exprimé 3.4 comme une phrase indépendante, commencent une nouvelle phrase ici. Voir Parole de Vie.

La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible change considérablement l’ordre des mots, en disant d’abord Il nous a sauvés… En grec la première partie du verset dit litt. « non par œuvres par (ou en) justice que nous avions faites, mais selon sa miséricorde il nous a sauvés… », où l’emphase est claire. Même si une reformulation s’avère nécessaire, les traducteurs devraient chercher à souligner le fait que notre salut n’est pas basé sur nos œuvres, aussi justes soient-elles.

Pour Il nous a sauvés, voir 1 Tim 1.15.

non en vertu d’œuvres que nous aurions accomplies nous-mêmes dans la justice : en vertu rend la préposition ἐκ ek qui veut dire aussi « à partir de » ou « par ». Mais dans certaines langues, on dirait plutôt « non à cause de… » ou « Ce n’est pas à cause de… »

œuvres que nous aurions accomplies nous-mêmes dans la justice rend les mots « œuvres, celles en justice que nous avons faites nous ». Le mot justice a probablement ici, comme en 1 Tim 6.11, le sens de ce qui est conforme à la loi de Dieu. accompli rend le verbe générique « faire » en grec : « non pas à cause des actions justes que nous avons pu faire… » (Parole de Vie).

mais en vertu de sa miséricorde : la conjonction grecque ἀλλά alla, mais, rend un contraste fort. en vertu rend une autre préposition, κατά kata, « selon », qui figure souvent dans cette lettre. Voir Tite 1.1, Tite 1.3, Tite 1.4, Tite 1.5, Tite 1.9. Il introduit la notion de la miséricorde ou la compassion de Dieu pour les êtres humains.

Pour miséricorde, voir 1 Tim 1.2 ; 2 Tim 1.2. Dans certaines langues, on parlera de « pitié », mais il ne s’agit pas seulement d’un sentiment de tristesse face au malheur d’autrui. Il s’agit d’une qualité active (et non passive), par laquelle, malgré nos fautes et torts, Dieu œuvre pour notre salut. La motivation de la miséricorde est l’amour pour la personne en question.

par le bain de la nouvelle naissance et de la rénovation que produit l’Esprit Saint : ces mots sont liés aux mots « il nous a sauvés ». par semble indiquer la manière, c’est-à-dire, comment Dieu a sauvé son peuple. Plusieurs mots (bain, naissance, rénovation) sont assez rares et la relation entre eux est discutée.

bain : le mot grec ne s’emploie dans le NT qu’ici et en Éph 5.26. Il renvoie probablement à une purification rituelle, du type connu par les Juifs. Dans les deux utilisations de Paul il a un sens figuré. En Ephésiens Paul dit que le croyant est lavé ou purifié par la parole. Ici le mot est associé à deux expressions « régénération » et « renouvellement » par le Saint-Esprit. Certains y voient un rapport avec le rite chrétien du baptême. Ainsi la Bible en français courant ajoute au texte « au travers de l’eau du baptême ». Mais la Nouvelle Français courant enlève ces mots pour revenir à une traduction plus littérale : « il nous a sauvés par le bain de la nouvelle naissance et le renouvellement opéré par le Saint-Esprit ».

Ainsi l’emploi du mot « bain » semble évoquer plusieurs notions à la fois :
« un bain purificateur » comme chez les Juifs (La Bible du Semeur)
le baptême d’eau comme sacrement chez les chrétiens (Bible en français courant)
la venue du Saint-Esprit chez les croyants (Actes 2.1ss et ailleurs)

Les traducteurs devraient décider comment traiter cette expression figurée, soit en restant proche du texte (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Nouvelle Français courant), soit en optant pour une traduction plus explicative, par exemple, « il nous a sauvés par le lavage/baptême qui est un signe que nous avons été régénérés et renouvelés grâce au Saint-Esprit ». Le focus ne semble pas sur le baptême en tant que rite, mais plutôt sur le fait que le cœur a été « lavé » ou « purifié ».

nouvelle naissance rend le mot grec παλιγγενεσία palingenesia, litt. « naître encore ». Le mot se trouve dans le NT seulement ici et en Matt 19.28, à propos du « monde nouveau » que Dieu va créer à la fin des temps. Dans l’Évangile de Jean, il y a un vocabulaire similaire : « naître de nouveau » (Jean 3.3). Les traducteurs pourront choisir parmi plusieurs expressions : nouvelle naissance, « régénération », etc.

rénovation rend le mot grec ἀνακαίνωσις anakainôsis, « renouveler », qui n’est attesté qu’ici et en Rom 12.2. Deux verbes apparentés, tous les deux rares, s’emploient en 2 Cor 4.16 ; Col 3.10, et Hébr 6.6. Ces termes décrivent, souvent au sens figuré, l’action de refaire ou de rendre nouveau quelque chose ou quelqu’un.

La parution de ces deux expressions ensemble, litt. « le bain de la régénération et du renouvellement d’esprit saint » pose beaucoup de problèmes aux exégètes. D’abord, il faudrait se demander si les deux mots rendus par nouvelle naissance et rénovation sont à prendre ensemble ou séparément. Les deux qualifient-ils le mot bain ou est-ce que seule l’expression nouvelle naissance le qualifie ? L’expression au génitif de l’Esprit Saint modifie-t-elle seulement le mot précédent (« rénovation de l’esprit saint ») ou modifie-t-elle aussi le bain de la nouvelle naissance ? Ces questions sont importantes car certaines personnes utilisent leurs réponses pour confirmer ou nier certaines positions théologiques.

En effet, certains biblistes y voient deux actions simultanées : le baptême et le don du Saint Esprit. Ceci semble le point de vue de la Bible de Jérusalem : « le bain de la régénération et de la rénovation en l’Esprit Saint » et de la La Bible du Semeur : « Il nous a sauvés parce qu’il a eu pitié de nous, en nous faisant passer par le bain purificateur de la nouvelle naissance, c’est-à-dire en nous renouvelant par le Saint-Esprit ». D’autres y voient des étapes dans la vie du croyant, commençant par la conversion et le baptême, suivis d’une activité ultérieure du Saint-Esprit dans la vie du croyant. LaTraduction œcuménique de la Bible et la Parole de Vie peuvent être comprises dans ce dernier sens : « Il nous a sauvés par le bain de la nouvelle naissance et par l’Esprit Saint qui nous donne une vie nouvelle ».

Étant donné que ce verset s’ouvre à plusieurs interprétations et peut être source de conflit, la meilleure approche pourra être de le rendre assez littéralement pour laisser l’interprétation au lecteur. Mais si la suite des noms en grec demande une traduction plus libre, les traducteurs pourront mettre l’une des interprétations dans le texte et l’accompagner d’une note expliquant d’autres interprétations possibles.

Pour l’Esprit Saint, voir 2 Tim 1.14.

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

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Verse: Titus 3:5