Titus 1
New American Standard Bible
Salutation
1 Paul, (A)a bond-servant of God and an (B)apostle of Jesus Christ, [a]for the faith of those (C)chosen of God and (D)the knowledge of the truth which is (E)according to godliness, 2 in (F)the hope of eternal life, which God, (G)who cannot lie, (H)promised [b](I)long ages ago, 3 but (J)at the proper time revealed His word in (K)the proclamation (L)with which I was entrusted (M)according to the commandment of (N)God our Savior;
4 To (O)Titus, (P)my true [c]son [d]in a (Q)common faith: (R)Grace and peace from God the Father and (S)Christ Jesus our Savior.
Qualifications of Elders
5 For this reason I left you in (T)Crete, that you would set in order what remains and (U)appoint (V)elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, (W)if any man is beyond reproach, the (X)husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of (Y)indecent behavior or (Z)rebellion. 7 For the [e](AA)overseer must be beyond reproach as (AB)God’s steward, not (AC)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not (AD)overindulging in wine, not [f]a bully, (AE)not greedy for money, 8 but (AF)hospitable, (AG)loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, 9 (AH)holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to [g]exhort in (AI)sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 (AJ)For there are many (AK)rebellious people, (AL)empty talkers and deceivers, especially (AM)those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting (AN)whole families, teaching (AO)things they should not teach (AP)for the sake of [h]dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “(AQ)Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason (AR)reprimand them (AS)severely so that they may be (AT)sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish (AU)myths and (AV)commandments of men who (AW)turn away from the truth. 15 (AX)To the pure, all things are pure; but (AY)to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their (AZ)mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 (BA)They profess to know God, but by their deeds they (BB)deny Him, being (BC)detestable and (BD)disobedient and (BE)worthless (BF)for any good deed.
Titus 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Salutation
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began(A)— 3 in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior,(B)
4 To Titus, my true child[a] in the faith we share:
Grace[b] and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.(C)
Titus in Crete
5 I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you:(D) 6 someone who is blameless, married only once,[c] whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious.(E) 7 For a bishop,[d] as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain,(F) 8 but he must be hospitable,[e] a lover of goodness, self-controlled, upright, devout, and restrained, 9 holding tightly to the trustworthy word of the teaching, so that he may be able both to exhort with sound instruction and to refute those who contradict it.
10 There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision;(G) 11 they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what it is not right to teach.(H) 12 It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said,
“Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons.”
13 That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith,(I) 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth.(J) 15 To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are corrupted.(K) 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions; they are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.(L)
Titus 1
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of the elect of God and the acknowledging of the truth, which is according to godliness:
2 Unto the hope of life everlasting, which God, who lieth not, hath promised before the times of the world:
3 But hath in due times manifested his word in preaching, which is committed to me according to the commandment of God our Saviour:
4 To Titus my beloved son, according to the common faith, grace and peace from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Saviour.
5 For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and shouldest ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee:
6 If any be without crime, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot, or unruly.
7 For a bishop must be without crime, as the steward of God: not proud, not subject to anger, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre:
8 But given to hospitality, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent:
9 Embracing that faithful word which is according to doctrine, that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine, and to convince the gainsayers.
10 For there are also many disobedient, vain talkers, and seducers: especially they who are of the circumcision:
11 Who must be reproved, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
12 One of them a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies.
13 This testimony is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men, who turn themselves away from the truth.
15 All things are clean to the clean: but to them that are defiled, and to unbelievers, nothing is clean: but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
16 They profess that they know God: but in their works they deny him; being abominable, and incredulous, and to every good work reprobate.
Titus 1
The Message
1 1-4 I, Paul, am God’s slave and Christ’s agent for promoting the faith among God’s chosen people, getting out the accurate word on God and how to respond rightly to it. My aim is to raise hopes by pointing the way to life without end. This is the life God promised long ago—and he doesn’t break promises! And then when the time was ripe, he went public with his truth. I’ve been entrusted to proclaim this Message by order of our Savior, God himself. Dear Titus, legitimate son in the faith: Receive everything God our Father and Jesus our Savior give you!
A Good Grip on the Message
5-9 I left you in charge in Crete so you could complete what I left half-done. Appoint leaders in every town according to my instructions. As you select them, ask, “Is this man well-thought-of? Is he committed to his wife? Are his children believers? Do they respect him and stay out of trouble?” It’s important that a church leader, responsible for the affairs in God’s house, be looked up to—not pushy, not short-tempered, not a drunk, not a bully, not money-hungry. He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself, and have a good grip on the Message, knowing how to use the truth to either spur people on in knowledge or stop them in their tracks if they oppose it.
10-16 For there are a lot of rebels out there, full of loose, confusing, and deceiving talk. Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst. They’ve got to be shut up. They’re disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck. One of their own prophets said it best:
The Cretans are liars from the womb,
barking dogs, lazy bellies.
He certainly spoke the truth. Get on them right away. Stop that diseased talk of Jewish make-believe and made-up rules so they can recover a robust faith. Everything is clean to the clean-minded; nothing is clean to dirty-minded unbelievers. They leave their dirty fingerprints on every thought and act. They say they know God, but their actions speak louder than their words. They’re real creeps, disobedient good-for-nothings.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson