Book of Common Prayer

Paul exhorts Titus to ordain priests or bishops in every city, declares what manner of men they ought to be that are chosen to that office, and charges Titus to rebuke such persons as withstand the gospel.

1 Paul the servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ to preach the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth, which leads to godliness ² in the hope of eternal life. Which life God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began, ³ but has declared his word openly at the time appointed through preaching, which preaching is committed to me by the commandment of God our Saviour.

⁴ To Titus, his true-born son in the common faith.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

⁵ The reason I left you in Crete was in order that you should complete that which was lacking, and should ordain elders in every city as I directed you – ⁶ if any be faultless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not known for running wild or disobedience. ⁷ For a bishop must be faultless, as it becomes the minister of God: not stubborn, not angry, no drunkard, no fighter; not given to the love of money, ⁸ but welcoming toward people and willing to take them in; one who loves goodness, sober-minded, righteous, holy, temperate; ⁹ and such as cleaves to the true word of doctrine, so that he may be able to exhort with wholesome teaching, and to refute those who speak against it.

¹⁰ For there are many contrary, who speak vanity and beguile minds, namely they of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped. They pervert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for easy money. ¹² One of them, who was an author of their own, said, The Cretans are always liars, evil creatures and lazy gluttons. ¹³ This witness is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ and not paying heed to Jewish fables, and to commandments of men that turn from the truth.

¹⁵ To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but even their very minds and consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They confess that they know God, but with their deeds they deny him, and are abominable and obstinately self-willed, not to be trusted for any good works.

The conception and birth of John the Baptist. The conception of Christ. The thankful songs of Mary and Zacharias.

1 Since many have taken in hand to compile an account of those things that are known for certain among us, ² as told to us by those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning, and ministered at the doing of them, ³ I determined also that, as soon as I had searched out diligently all things from the beginning, then I would write to you, good Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of those things of which you are informed.

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the shift of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both were perfect before God, and walked in all the laws and observances of the Lord, and no man could find fault with them. ⁷ And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were well stricken in age.

⁸ And it came to pass as he executed the priest’s office before God, when his shift came ⁹ according to the custom of the priest’s office, the lot fell to him to burn incense. And he went into the temple of the Lord, ¹⁰ and the whole host of the people were outside in prayer while the incense was a-burning. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was startled, and fear came on him.

¹³ And the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to their Lord God. ¹⁷ And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelievers to the wisdom of the just men: to make the people ready for the Lord.

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, How may I be sure of this, seeing that I am old, and my wife well stricken in years?

¹⁹ And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, and have been sent to speak to you and to show you these glad tidings. ²⁰ And behold, you shall be dumb and not able to speak until the time that these things are performed, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.

²¹ And the people waited for Zacharias, and wondered that he was so long in the temple. ²² And when he came out, he could not speak to them, whereby they perceived that he had seen some vision in the temple. And he gestured to them and remained speechless.

²³ And eventually, as soon as the time of his ministration was up, he departed home to his own house. ²⁴ And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵ Thus has God dealt with me in the days when he looked on me, to take from me the disgrace that I suffered among men.