Titus 2:4
New International Version
Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,

New Living Translation
These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,

English Standard Version
and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,

Berean Standard Bible
In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children,

Berean Literal Bible
so that they may train the young women to be lovers of their husbands, loving their children,

King James Bible
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

New King James Version
that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

New American Standard Bible
so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

NASB 1995
so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

NASB 1977
that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Legacy Standard Bible
so that they may instruct the young women in sensibility: to love their husbands, to love their children,

Amplified Bible
so that they may encourage the young women to tenderly love their husbands and their children,

Christian Standard Bible
so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
so they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children,

American Standard Version
that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Contemporary English Version
so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers.

English Revised Version
that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
In this way they will teach young women to show love to their husbands and children,

Good News Translation
in order to train the younger women to love their husbands and children,

International Standard Version
They should encourage the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Majority Standard Bible
In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children,

NET Bible
In this way they will train the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children,

New Heart English Bible
that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Webster's Bible Translation
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Weymouth New Testament
They should school the young women to be affectionate to their husbands and to their children, to be sober-minded, pure in their lives,

World English Bible
that they may train the young wives to love their husbands, to love their children,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
that they may make the young women sober-minded, to be lovers of [their] husbands, lovers of [their] children,

Berean Literal Bible
so that they may train the young women to be lovers of their husbands, loving their children,

Young's Literal Translation
that they may make the young women sober-minded, to be lovers of their husbands, lovers of their children,

Smith's Literal Translation
That they render the young women discreet, to be lovers of the husband, lovers of the children,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
That they may teach the young women to be wise, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Catholic Public Domain Version
so that they may teach prudence to the young women, so that they may love their husbands, love their children,

New American Bible
so that they may train younger women to love their husbands and children,

New Revised Standard Version
so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
That they may teach the young women to be modest, to love their husbands and their children,

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And chasten those who are young women to love their husbands and their children,
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
That they may teach the young women to be sober-minded, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Godbey New Testament
in order that they instruct the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

Haweis New Testament
that they instruct the young women to be discreet, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Mace New Testament
but to lectures on virtue, that they may teach the young women prudence, to love their husbands,

Weymouth New Testament
They should school the young women to be affectionate to their husbands and to their children, to be sober-minded, pure in their lives,

Worrell New Testament
that they may train the young women to be lovers of their husbands, lovers of their children,

Worsley New Testament
that they may instruct the young women to be temperate, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be prudent,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Teaching Sound Doctrine
3Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good. 4In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.…

Cross References
Proverbs 31:10-31
A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. / The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value. / She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. ...

Ephesians 5:22-33
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. / For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. / Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ...

1 Peter 3:1-6
Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives / when they see your pure and reverent demeanor. / Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, ...

Colossians 3:18-19
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. / Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

1 Timothy 5:14
So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.

Genesis 2:18-24
The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.” / And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. / The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ...

1 Corinthians 7:3-5
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. / The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. / Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. / And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

1 Timothy 2:9-10
Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, / but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.

Proverbs 14:1
Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. / It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. / Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. ...

1 Thessalonians 4:9
Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

1 John 4:7-8
Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. / Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, / gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. / Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.


Treasury of Scripture

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

the.

1 Timothy 5:2,11,14
The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity…

sober.

Titus 2:2
That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

to love their husbands.

1 Timothy 5:14
I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

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Admonish Affectionate Attached Children Encourage Husbands Love Pure School Sober Sober-Minded Teach Train Training Women Young Younger
Titus 2
1. Directions given unto Titus both for his doctrine and life.
10. Of the duty of servants, and in general of all Christians.














so that they may encourage
The Greek word used here is "σωφρονίζω" (sophronizo), which means to train, teach, or bring someone to their senses. This implies a gentle guidance rather than harsh instruction. In the historical context of the early church, older women were seen as mentors, imparting wisdom and life skills to younger women. This reflects a communal approach to spiritual and practical education, emphasizing the importance of relational discipleship within the Christian community.

the young women
The term "young women" refers to those who are newly married or of marriageable age. In the Greco-Roman world, young women were often married in their teens, and their roles were primarily domestic. The church recognized the need for these women to be supported and guided in their new roles, highlighting the value of intergenerational relationships within the body of Christ. This mentorship is not just about imparting knowledge but also about modeling a godly lifestyle.

to love their husbands
The Greek word for love here is "φιλέω" (phileo), which denotes a deep, affectionate, and tender love. This is not merely a duty but a heartfelt commitment to one's spouse. In a time when marriages were often arranged and based on social contracts rather than romantic love, this instruction was revolutionary. It called for a genuine, selfless love that mirrors Christ's love for the church, emphasizing the sanctity and depth of the marital relationship.

and children
The inclusion of children highlights the family as the foundational unit of society and the church. The Greek word "τέκνα" (tekna) refers to offspring or children. The instruction to love one's children goes beyond mere provision and care; it involves nurturing them in the faith and guiding them in righteousness. This reflects the biblical principle that parents are the primary spiritual educators of their children, tasked with raising them in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord.

(4) That they may teach the young women to be sober.--Better rendered, simply, that they may teach (or school) the young women, omitting the words "to be sober." In Ephesus the representative of the Apostle was directed himself to exhort the younger women; very likely the same charge being given here to the aged women of the congregations was owing to the state of the Cretan Christian, which called not only for more practical and homely, but also for more individual, exhortations. So here this special work was left for the elder women among the faithful to carry out. Such a reformation, not only in the discipline of the Church, but also in the individual life and conversation, as St. Paul desired to see in Crete, would never be brought about by a sermon, or even by many sermons, however eloquent and earnest, from Titus. It would be a matter requiring long time and patience, and would, as observed above, rather follow as the result of patient individual effort and holy example.

To love their husbands, to love their children.--There was evidently in Crete a feverish longing for excitement, for novelty in religious teaching; hence the demand for, and consequent supply of, the "fables" and "commandments of men" spoken of in Titus 1:14. Women as well as men preferred rather to do something for religion and for God, and thus to wipe out past transgressions, and perhaps to purchase the liberty of future licence. They preferred the rigid and often difficult observance of the elaborate ritual, "the tithing of the mint, and anise, and cummin," to quietly and reverently "doing their Father's business.' St. Paul's method of correcting this false and unhealthy view of religion was to recall women as well as men to the steady, faithful performance of those quiet every-day duties to which God had, in His providence, called them. The first duty of these younger women, St. Paul tells Titus, and which he would have their elder sisters impress on them, was the great home duty of loving their husbands and children. While St. Paul would never have the women of Christ forget their new and precious privileges in the present, their glorious hopes in the future, yet here on earth he would never let them desert, or even for a moment forget, their first and chiefest duties. Their work, let them remember, lay not abroad in the busy world. Their first duty was to make home life beautiful by the love of husband and child--that great love which ever teaches forgetfulness of self.

Verse 4. - Train for teach... to be sober, A.V. Train (σωφρονίζωσι); only here in the New Testament, not found in the LXX., but common in classical Greek in the sense of to "correct," "control," or "moderate," which is its meaning here. Ellicott renders it "school" (comp. 1 Timothy 5:14). The A.V. "teach to be sober" is manifestly wrong. To love their husbands (φιλάνδρους εῖναι); here only in the New Testament, not found in the LXX., but occasionally, in this sense, in classical Greek. To love their children (φιλοτέκνους); here only in the New Testament, not found in the LXX. except in 4 Macc. 15:4, but not uncommon in classical Greek.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
In this way
ἵνα (hina)
Conjunction
Strong's 2443: In order that, so that. Probably from the same as the former part of heautou; in order that.

they can train
σωφρονίζωσιν (sōphronizōsin)
Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4994: To make sober-minded, admonish, control. From sophron; to make of sound mind, i.e. to discipline or correct.

the
τὰς (tas)
Article - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

young [women]
νέας (neas)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3501: (a) young, youthful, (b) new, fresh.

to
εἶναι (einai)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

love [their] husbands
φιλάνδρους (philandrous)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 5362: Loving one's husband. From philos and aner; fond of man, i.e. Affectionate as a wife.

[and] children,
φιλοτέκνους (philoteknous)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 5388: Loving one's children. From philos and teknon; fond of one's children, i.e. Maternal.


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NT Letters: Titus 2:4 That they may train the young women (Ti. Tt.)
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