¹Tell believers to live the kind of life that goes along with accurate teachings. ²Tell older men to be sober. Tell them to be men of good character, to use good judgment, and to be well-grounded in faith, love, and endurance.

³Tell older women to live their lives in a way that shows they are dedicated to God. Tell them not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol, but to be examples of virtue. ⁴In this way they will teach young women to show love to their husbands and children, ⁵to use good judgment, and to be morally pure. Also, tell them to teach young women to be homemakers, to be kind, and to place themselves under their husbands’ authority. Then no one can speak evil of God’s word.

⁶Encourage young men to use good judgment. ⁷Always set an example by doing good things. When you teach, be an example of moral purity and dignity. ⁸Speak an accurate message that cannot be condemned. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed because they cannot say anything bad about us.

⁹Tell slaves who are believers to place themselves under their masters’ authority in everything they do. Tell them to please their masters, not to argue with them ¹⁰or steal from them. Instead, tell slaves to show their masters how good and completely loyal they can be. Then they will show the beauty of the teachings about God our Savior in everything they do.

¹¹After all, God’s saving kindness^ahas appeared for the benefit of all people. ¹²It trains us to avoid ungodly lives filled with worldly desires so that we can live self-controlled, moral, and godly lives in this present world. ¹³At the same time we can expect what we hope for—the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹⁴He gave himself for us to set us free from every sin and to cleanse us so that we can be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good things.

¹⁵Tell these things to the believers. Encourage and correct them, using your full authority. Don’t let anyone ignore you.

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Footnotes

a 2:11 Or “grace.”