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From Paul, a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of God and an ·apostle [messenger] of Jesus Christ. I was sent ·to help [or in the service of; or to bring about] the faith of God’s ·chosen people [elect] and to help them know the truth that ·shows people how to serve God [or leads to godliness/piety]. That faith and that knowledge ·come from [or lead to] the ·hope for [confidence/certainty of] ·life forever [eternal life], which God, who never lies, promised to us before ·time began [L eternal times]. At ·the right [the appointed; his own] time God ·let the world know about that life [L revealed/manifested his word/message] through preaching. He ·trusted [entrusted] me with that work by the command of God our Savior.

To Titus [2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6; 8:16; Gal. 2:1–3], my ·true [genuine] child in the faith we share:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Titus’ Work in Crete

I left you in Crete [C an island in the Mediterranean southeast of Greece] so you could ·finish doing [organize; straighten out] the things that still needed to be done and so you could appoint elders in every ·town [city], as I directed you. An elder [1 Tim. 3:1–7] must ·not be guilty of doing wrong [be blameless], must ·have only one wife [or be faithful to his wife], and must have ·believing [or faithful] children. They must not be ·known as children who are [accused of being] ·wild [reckless] and ·do not cooperate [unruly; undisciplined; rebellious]. As God’s ·managers [stewards], overseers [C probably the same church office as elder; 1 Tim. 3:1, 6, 7; 5:17] must be ·innocent of wrongdoing [blameless], ·unselfish [not arrogant/self-willed], not ·quick-tempered [easily angered]. They must not ·drink too much wine [be a drunkard], ·like to fight [be violent/a brawler], or ·try to get rich by cheating others [be greedy for gain/dishonest in business]. Overseers must be ·ready to welcome guests [hospitable], love what is good, be ·wise [self-controlled; sensible], ·live right [upright; just], and be ·holy [devout] and ·self-controlled [disciplined]. By holding ·on [firmly] to the ·trustworthy [faithful] ·word [message] just as it was taught to them, overseers can ·encourage [exhort] people with ·true [sound; healthy] teaching, and they can ·correct [reprove; refute] those who are against it.

10 There are many ·people who refuse to cooperate [unruly/rebellious people], who talk about ·worthless [empty; useless] things and ·lead others into the wrong way [deceive others]—·mainly [especially] those ·who insist on circumcision to be saved [or among the Jewish Christians; L of the circumcision]. 11 These people must be ·stopped [L silenced], because they are ·upsetting [misleading; ruining; overthrowing] whole families by teaching things they should not teach, which they do ·to get rich by cheating people [for dishonest gain]. 12 Even one of their own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil ·animals [beasts], and lazy ·people who do nothing but eat [gluttons; C a quote from Epimenides, a poet from Crete (sixth century bc)].” 13 ·The words that prophet said are [L This testimony is] true. So ·firmly [severely; sharply] ·tell those people they are wrong [rebuke/admonish them] so they may become ·strong [sound; healthy] in the faith, 14 not ·accepting [paying attention to; wasting time with] Jewish ·false stories [myths; 1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4] and the commands of people who ·reject [turn their backs on] the truth. 15 To those who are pure, all things are pure, but to those who are ·full of sin [defiled; polluted (with sin)] and ·do not believe [unfaithful], nothing is pure. Both their minds and their consciences have been ·ruined [defiled; polluted]. 16 They ·say [claim; confess] they know God, but their actions show they ·do not accept [deny] him. They are ·hateful people [detestable; abominable], they refuse to obey, and they are ·useless [unfit; disqualified] for doing anything good.

Salutation

From Paul,[a] a slave[b] of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith[c] of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before time began.[d] But now in his own time[e] he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior. To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!

Titus’ Task on Crete

The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless,[f] the husband of one wife,[g] with faithful children[h] who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. For the overseer[i] must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work,[j] not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain. Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught,[k] so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching[l] and correct those who speak against it.

10 For there are many[m] rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections,[n] 11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught. 12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”[o] 13 Such testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply that they may be healthy in the faith 14 and not pay attention to Jewish myths[p] and commands of people who reject the truth. 15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

Footnotes

  1. Titus 1:1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
  2. Titus 1:1 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households. sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
  3. Titus 1:1 tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”
  4. Titus 1:2 tn Grk “before eternal times.”
  5. Titus 1:3 tn The Greek text emphasizes the contrast between vv. 2b and 3a: God promised this long ago but now has revealed it in his own time.
  6. Titus 1:6 tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.
  7. Titus 1:6 tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.
  8. Titus 1:6 tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.
  9. Titus 1:7 sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.
  10. Titus 1:7 tn Grk “as God’s steward.”
  11. Titus 1:9 tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).
  12. Titus 1:9 tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).
  13. Titus 1:10 tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1241 1505 1739 1881 M lat), giving the sense “also many.” Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely autographic. NA28 puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
  14. Titus 1:10 tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).
  15. Titus 1:12 sn A saying attributed to the poet Epimenides of Crete (6th century b.c.).
  16. Titus 1:14 sn Jewish myths were legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 1:4; 4:7; and 2 Tim 4:4.