Titus 1

Greeting

¹ Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

³ and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

⁴ To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

⁵ This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-

⁶ if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

⁷ For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,

⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

¹⁰ For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.

¹¹ They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

¹² One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

¹⁴ not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.