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] 3} and ^(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;

⁴ To 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. ⁷ For 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, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^(V)and disciplined. ⁹ He 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.

¹⁰ For there are many who are insubordinate, ^(Y)empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^(Z)the circumcision party.^{[h] 11} They 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] 13} This 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.

Teach Sound Doctrine

2 But as for you, teach what accords with ^(AP)sound^[k] doctrine. ² Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, ^(AQ)sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. ^3 (AR)Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, ^(AS)not slanderers ^(AT)or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, ^(AU)pure, ^(AV)working at home, kind, and ^(AW)submissive to their own husbands, ^(AX)that the word of God may not be reviled. ⁶ Likewise, urge ^(AY)the younger men to be self-controlled. ⁷ Show yourself in all respects to be ^(AZ)a model of good works, and in your teaching ^(BA)show integrity, ^(BB)dignity, ⁸ and ^(BC)sound speech that cannot be condemned, ^(BD)so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. ^9 (BE)Bondservants^[l] are to be submissive to their own masters ^(BF)in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not pilfering, ^(BG)but showing all good faith, ^(BH)so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

¹¹ For ^(BI)the grace of God ^(BJ)has appeared, bringing salvation ^(BK)for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and ^(BL)worldly passions, and ^(BM)to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in ^(BN)the present age, ^13 (BO)waiting for our blessed ^(BP)hope, the ^(BQ)appearing of the glory of our great ^(BR)God and Savior Jesus Christ, ^14 (BS)who gave himself for us to ^(BT)redeem us from all lawlessness and ^(BU)to purify for himself ^(BV)a people for his own possession who are ^(BW)zealous for good works.

¹⁵ Declare these things; exhort and ^(BX)rebuke with all authority. ^(BY)Let no one disregard you.

Be Ready for Every Good Work

3 Remind them ^(BZ)to be submissive to rulers and authorities, ^(CA)to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ^2 (CB)to speak evil of no one, ^(CC)to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and ^(CD)to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³ For ^(CE)we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴ But when ^(CF)the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, ^(CG)not because of works done by us in righteousness, but ^(CH)according to his own mercy, by ^(CI)the washing of regeneration and ^(CJ)renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he ^(CK)poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that ^(CL)being justified by his grace we might become ^(CM)heirs ^(CN)according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸ The saying is ^(CO)trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful ^(CP)to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. ⁹ But ^(CQ)avoid foolish ^(CR)controversies, ^(CS)genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for ^(CT)they are unprofitable and worthless. ¹⁰ As for a person who stirs up division, ^(CU)after warning him once and then twice, ^(CV)have nothing more to do with him, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹² When I send Artemas or ^(CW)Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me ^(CX)at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and ^(CY)Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. ¹⁴ And let our people learn ^(CZ)to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not ^(DA)be unfruitful.

¹⁵ All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

^(DB)Grace be with you all.

Greeting

¹ Paul, ^(A)a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and ^(B)Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker ² and Apphia our sister and ^(C)Archippus our ^(D)fellow soldier, and ^(E)the church in your house:

^3 (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon's Love and Faith

^4 (G)I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I ^(H)hear of your love and ^(I)of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, ⁶ and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full ^(J)knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.^{[a] 7} For I have derived much joy and ^(K)comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints ^(L)have been refreshed through you.

Paul's Plea for Onesimus

⁸ Accordingly, ^(M)though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do ^(N)what is required, ⁹ yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now ^(O)a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— ¹⁰ I appeal to you for ^(P)my child, ^(Q)Onesimus,^{[b] (R)}whose father I became in my imprisonment. ¹¹ (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) ¹² I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. ¹³ I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me ^(S)on your behalf ^(T)during my imprisonment for the gospel, ¹⁴ but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be ^(U)by compulsion but of your own accord. ¹⁵ For this perhaps is why ^(V)he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, ^16 (W)no longer as a bondservant^[c] but more than a bondservant, as ^(X)a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, ^(Y)both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷ So if you consider me ^(Z)your partner, receive him as you would receive me. ¹⁸ If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. ^19 (AA)I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. ²⁰ Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. ^(AB)Refresh my heart in Christ.

^21 (AC)Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. ²² At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for ^(AD)I am hoping that ^(AE)through your prayers ^(AF)I will be graciously given to you.

Final Greetings

^23 (AG)Epaphras, my ^(AH)fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, ²⁴ and so do ^(AI)Mark, ^(AJ)Aristarchus, ^(AK)Demas, and ^(AL)Luke, my fellow workers.

^25 (AM)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

The Supremacy of God's Son

1 Long ago, at many times and ^(A)in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but ^(B)in these last days ^(C)he has spoken to us by ^(D)his Son, whom he appointed ^(E)the heir of all things, ^(F)through whom also he created ^(G)the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and ^(H)the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. ^(I)After making purification for sins, ^(J)he sat down ^(K)at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name ^(L)he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

Or again,

⁶ And again, when he brings ^(O)the firstborn into the world, he says,

⁷ Of the angels he says,

⁸ But of the Son he says,

¹⁰ And,

¹³ And to which of the angels has he ever said,

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits ^(Y)sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to ^(Z)inherit salvation?