God & Savior

Titus 3:5

He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5
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Study notes

God saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Explanation

Paul reminds Titus that believers were once foolish and enslaved to passions (3:3). Then God's kindness and love appeared (3:4). Salvation came from God's mercy, not from human deeds.

Original language
  • ἔργων (ergōn): work
    Greek · Noun, genitive, plural, neuter · Strong's G2041 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Works.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 3

  • δικαιοσύνῃ (dikaiosunē): righteousness
    Greek · Noun, dative, singular, feminine · Strong's G1343 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Righteousness.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 6

  • ἔλεος (eleos): mercy
    Greek · Noun, accusative, singular, neuter · Strong's G1656 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Mercy.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 14

  • ἔσωσεν (esōsen): to save
    Greek · Verb, aorist, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G4982 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    He saved.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 15

  • λουτροῦ (loutrou): washing
    Greek · Noun, genitive, singular, neuter · Strong's G3067 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Washing.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 18

  • παλιγγενεσίας (palingenesias): regeneration
    Greek · Noun, genitive, singular, feminine · Strong's G3824 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    New birth, regeneration.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 19

  • ἀνακαινώσεως (anakainōseōs): renewal
    Greek · Noun, genitive, singular, feminine · Strong's G0342 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Renewal.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 21

  • πνεύματος (pneumatos): spirit/breath
    Greek · Noun, genitive, singular, neuter · Strong's G4151G · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Spirit.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Titus 3:5, word 22

Cross-references
  • Ephesians 2:8-9 · Same theme

    By grace you have been saved, not by works.

  • John 3:5 · Same theme

    Born of water and the Spirit.

  • Titus 3:4 · Surrounding passage

    The kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Greek)

οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἃ ἐποιήσαμεν ἡμεῖς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας καὶ ἀνακαινώσεως πνεύματος ἁγίου

  1. οὐκouk“not”
    Particle, negative · from οὐ · “no” · Strong's G3756
  2. ἐξex“by”
    Preposition · from ἐκ · “out from” · Strong's G1537
  3. ἔργωνergōn“works”
    Noun, genitive, plural, neuter · from ἔργον · “work” · Strong's G2041
  4. τῶνtōn“<the>”
    Article, genitive, plural, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  5. ἐνen“in”
    Preposition · “in/on/among” · Strong's G1722
  6. δικαιοσύνῃdikaiosunē“righteousness”
    Noun, dative, singular, feminine · from δικαιοσύνη · “righteousness” · Strong's G1343
  7. ἃha“that”
    Relative pronoun, accusative, plural, neuter · from ὅς, ἥ · “which” · Strong's G3739
  8. ἐποιήσαμενepoiēsamen“did”
    Verb, aorist, active, indicative, 1st person plural · from ποιέω · “to do/make” · Strong's G4160G
  9. ἡμεῖς,hēmeis“we ourselves,”
    Personal pronoun, 1st person, nominative, plural · from ἐγώ · “I/we” · Strong's G3165
  10. ἀλλὰalla“but”
    Conjunction · from ἀλλά · “but” · Strong's G0235
  11. κατὰkata“according to”
    Preposition · from κατά · “according to” · Strong's G2596
  12. τὸto“<the>”
    Article, accusative, singular, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  13. αὐτοῦautou“His”
    Personal pronoun, genitive, singular, masculine · from αὐτός · “he/she/it/self” · Strong's G0846
  14. ἔλεοςeleos“mercy”
    Noun, accusative, singular, neuter · “mercy” · Strong's G1656
  15. ἔσωσενesōsen“He saved”
    Verb, aorist, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from σῴζω · “to save” · Strong's G4982
  16. ἡμᾶςhēmas“us”
    Personal pronoun, 1st person, accusative, plural · from ἐγώ · “I/we” · Strong's G3165
  17. διὰdia“through”
    Preposition · from διά · “through/because of” · Strong's G1223
  18. λουτροῦloutrou“[the] washing”
    Noun, genitive, singular, neuter · from λουτρόν · “washing” · Strong's G3067
  19. παλιγγενεσίαςpalingenesias“of regeneration”
    Noun, genitive, singular, feminine · from παλιγγενεσία · “regeneration” · Strong's G3824
  20. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  21. ἀνακαινώσεωςanakainōseōs“renewing”
    Noun, genitive, singular, feminine · from ἀνακαίνωσις · “renewal” · Strong's G0342
  22. πνεύματοςpneumatos“of [the] Spirit”
    Noun, genitive, singular, neuter · from πνεῦμα · “spirit/breath” · Strong's G4151G
  23. ἁγίουhagiou“Holy”
    Adjective, genitive, singular, neuter · from ἅγιος · “holy” · Strong's G0040G
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)