Titus 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul, a servant^[a] of God and ^(A)an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and ^(B)their knowledge of the truth, ^(C)which accords with godliness, ²^(D)in hope of eternal life, which God, ^(E)who never lies, ^(F)promised ^(G)before the ages began^[b] ³and ^(H)at the proper time manifested in his word^[c] ^(I)through the preaching ^(J)with which I have been entrusted ^(K)by the command of God our Savior;

⁴To Titus, ^(L)my true child in ^(M)a common faith:

^(N)Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

⁵^(O)This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and ^(P)appoint elders in every town as I directed you— ⁶^(Q)if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,^[d] and his children are believers^[e] and not open to the charge of ^(R)debauchery or insubordination. ⁷For an overseer,^[f] ^(S)as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not ^(T)be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent ^(U)or greedy for gain, ⁸but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^(V)and disciplined. ⁹He must ^(W)hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^(X)sound^[g] doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

¹⁰For there are many who are insubordinate, ^(Y)empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^(Z)the circumcision party.^[h] ¹¹They must be silenced, since ^(AA)they are upsetting whole families by teaching ^(AB)for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. ¹²^(AC)One of the Cretans,^[i] a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”^[j] ¹³This testimony is true. Therefore ^(AD)rebuke them ^(AE)sharply, that they ^(AF)may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴^(AG)not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and ^(AH)the commands of people ^(AI)who turn away from the truth. ¹⁵^(AJ)To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and ^(AK)unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ^(AL)their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶^(AM)They profess to know God, but they ^(AN)deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, ^(AO)unfit for any good work.

Footnotes

Titus 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
Titus 1:2 Greek before times eternal
Titus 1:3 Or manifested his word
Titus 1:6 Or a man of one woman
Titus 1:6 Or are faithful
Titus 1:7 Or bishop; Greek episkopos
Titus 1:9 Or healthy; also verse 13
Titus 1:10 Or especially those of the circumcision
Titus 1:12 Greek One of them
Titus 1:12 Probably from Epimenides of Crete

Psalm 140

English Standard Version

Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

140 ^(A)Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
    preserve me from ^(B)violent men,
²who plan evil things in their heart
    and ^(C)stir up wars continually.
³They make ^(D)their tongue sharp as ^(E)a serpent's,
    and ^(F)under their lips is the ^(G)venom of asps. Selah

⁴Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from ^(H)violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵The arrogant have ^(I)hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread ^(J)a net;^[a]
    beside the way they have set ^(K)snares for me. Selah

⁶^(L)I say to the Lord, You are my God;
    give ear to ^(M)the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷O Lord, my Lord, ^(N)the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸^(O)Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their^[b] evil plot, or ^(P)they will be exalted! Selah

⁹As for the head of those who surround me,
    let ^(Q)the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰Let ^(R)burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(S)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and ^(T)will execute justice for the needy.
¹³Surely ^(U)the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
^(V)the upright shall dwell in your presence.