Titus 3:3 (YLT)

Passage

for we were once--also we--thoughtless, disobedient, led astray, serving desires and pleasures manifold, in malice and envy living, odious--hating one another;

Nearby Context

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be subject to principalities and authorities, to obey rule, unto every good work to be ready,

Titus 3:2 of no one to speak evil, not to be quarrelsome--gentle, showing all meekness to all men,

Titus 3:3 for we were once--also we--thoughtless, disobedient, led astray, serving desires and pleasures manifold, in malice and envy living, odious--hating one another;

Titus 3:4 and when the kindness and the love to men of God our Saviour did appear

Titus 3:5 (not by works that <FI>are<Fi> in righteousness that we did but according to His kindness,) He did save us, through a bathing of regeneration, and a renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "once--also", "we--thoughtless", "disobedient", "astray", "serving", "desires", "pleasures", and "manifold". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "once--also" and "we--thoughtless", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "of no one to speak evil not..." into verse 4's "and when the kindness and the love...", so "once--also" and "we--thoughtless" belong inside that flow. In Titus context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "once--also" and "we--thoughtless" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.