1 From Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and acknowledgment of the truth that is in accordance with godliness,
2 in hope of age-abiding life (which God who does not lie promised before the durations of the ages,
3 and made his word manifest in his own seasons by the preaching of that with which I have been entrusted according to the commandment of God our saviour),
4 to Titus, a genuine child in a shared faith, grace, mercy and peace from God the father and Lord Jesus Christ our saviour.
Ordain Elders in Every City
5 I left you in Crete for this reason: so that you might put the remaining things in order, and appoint elders in various cities, as I instructed you,
6 to see if anyone is unimpeachable, a husband of one wife, having believing children who are not culpable of irresponsibility or are unruly,
7 because an overseer must be unimpeachable, as a steward of God's, not presumptuous, not irascible, not over-fond of wine, not violent, not shamefully greedy of gain,
8 but hospitable, loving good, temperate, just, devout, self-controlled,
9 holding fast to the faithful doctrinal word in order that he may be competent to both give encouragement in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 For there are many also who are unruly, idle talkers and deluders, especially those of the circumcision,
11 who need to be silenced, the kind who overturn whole households, teaching things which they should not for the sake of shameful gain.
12 A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said, “The Cretans always have been liars, wicked beasts, idle gluttons.”
13 This testimony is true. For this reason censure them sharply, in order that they may be sound in the faith,
14 not heeding Judaic fables, or commandments of men who have turned away from the truth.
15 Everything is clean to the clean, but to the defiled and unbelievers nothing is clean, and even both their mind and conscience are defiled.
16 They profess to know God, but by their works they deny it, being abominable and disobedient, and unqualified for any good work.