²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock^(A) of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.^(B) Be shepherds of the church of God,^[a](C) which he bought^(D) with his own blood.^{[b](E) 29} I know that after I leave, savage wolves^(F) will come in among you and will not spare the flock.^{(G) 30} Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples^(H) after them. ³¹ So be on your guard! Remember that for three years^(I) I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.^(J)

⁹ He must hold firmly^(A) to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine^(B) and refute those who oppose it.

Rebuking Those Who Fail to Do Good

¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk^(C) and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.^{(D) 11} They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households^(E) by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹² One of Crete’s own prophets^(F) has said it: “Cretans^(G) are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”^{[a] 13} This saying is true. Therefore rebuke^(H) them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith^{(I) 14} and will pay no attention to Jewish myths^(J) or to the merely human commands^(K) of those who reject the truth.^{(L) 15} To the pure, all things are pure,^(M) but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.^(N) In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.^{(O) 16} They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.^(P) They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.^(Q)

¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,^(A) but rather expose them.

The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People

³ Dear friends,^(A) although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share,^(B) I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend^(C) for the faith^(D) that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.^{(E) 4} For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about^[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you.^(F) They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.^(G)