Titus 1
Christian Standard Bible
Greeting
1 Paul,(A) a servant of God(B) and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for[a] the faith of God’s elect(C) and their knowledge of the truth(D) that leads[b] to godliness,(E) 2 in the hope of eternal life(F) that God, who cannot lie,(G) promised before time began.(H) 3 In his own time he has revealed(I) his word(J) in the preaching with which I was entrusted(K) by the command(L) of God our Savior:(M)
4 To Titus,(N) my true son(O) in our common faith.
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.(P)
Titus’s Ministry in Crete
5 The reason I left you in Crete(Q) was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders(R) in every town. 6 An elder(S) must be blameless,(T) the husband of one wife, with faithful[c] children who are not accused of wildness or rebellion. 7 As an overseer(U) of God’s household, he must be blameless, not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not an excessive drinker, not a bully, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding to the faithful message as taught,(V) so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching(W) and to refute those who contradict it.
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from the circumcision party. 11 It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly. 12 One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true.(X) For this reason, rebuke them sharply,(Y) so that they may be sound in the faith 14 and may not pay attention to Jewish myths(Z) and the commands of people who reject the truth.(AA)
15 To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience(AB) are defiled. 16 They claim to know God,(AC) but they deny him by their works.(AD) They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.(AE)
Titus 1
Common English Bible
Greeting
1 From Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I’m sent to bring about the faith of God’s chosen people and a knowledge of the truth that agrees with godliness.
2 Their faith and this knowledge are based on the hope of eternal life that God, who doesn’t lie, promised before time began. 3 God revealed his message at the appropriate time through preaching, and I was trusted with preaching this message by the command of God our savior.
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith.
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
Appointing elders
5 The reason I left you behind in Crete was to organize whatever needs to be done and to appoint elders in each city, as I told you. 6 Elders should be without fault. They should be faithful to their spouse,[a] and have faithful children who can’t be accused of self-indulgence or rebelliousness. 7 This is because supervisors[b] should be without fault as God’s managers: they shouldn’t be stubborn, irritable, addicted to alcohol, a bully, or greedy. 8 Instead, they should show hospitality, love what is good, and be reasonable, ethical, godly, and self-controlled. 9 They must pay attention to the reliable message as it has been taught to them so that they can encourage people with healthy instruction and refute those who speak against it.
Correcting rebellious people
10 In fact, there are many who are rebellious people, loudmouths, and deceivers, especially some of those who are Jewish believers.[c] 11 They must be silenced because they upset entire households. They teach what they shouldn’t to make money dishonestly. 12 Someone who is one of their own prophets said, “People from Crete are always liars, wild animals, and lazy gluttons.” 13 This statement is true. Because of this, correct them firmly, so that they can be healthy in their faith. 14 They shouldn’t pay attention to Jewish myths and commands from people who reject the truth. 15 Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those who are corrupt and without faith. Instead, their mind and conscience are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but they deny God by the things that they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.
Footnotes
- Titus 1:6 Or they should be a one-woman man.
- Titus 1:7 Or overseers, bishops
- Titus 1:10 Or from the circumcision
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