Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
65 You have done good things for me, your servant,
as you have promised, Lord.
66 Teach me wisdom and knowledge
because I trust your commands.
67 Before I suffered, I did wrong.
But now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and you do what is good.
Teach me your demands.
69 Proud people have made up lies about me.
But I will follow your orders with all my heart.
70 Those people have no feelings,
but I love your teachings.
71 It was good for me to suffer
so I would learn your demands.
72 Your teachings are worth more to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
12 The Lord of heaven’s armies has a certain day planned.
On that day he will punish the proud and those who brag.
They will no longer be important.
13 He will bring down the tall cedar trees from Lebanon.
He will destroy the great oak trees of Bashan.
14 He will destroy all the tall mountains
and the high hills.
15 He will knock down every tall tower
and every high, strong wall.
16 He will sink all the trading ships.
And he will destroy the beautiful ships.
17 At that time proud people will stop being proud.
They will bow low with shame.
And at that time only the Lord will be praised.
Paul Instructs Titus
1 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help the faith of God’s chosen people. I was sent to help them to know the truth. And that truth shows people how to serve God. 2 That faith and that knowledge come from our hope for life forever. God promised that life to us before time began, and God does not lie. 3 At the right time God let the world know about that life through preaching. He trusted me with that work, and I preached because God our Savior commanded me to.
4 To Titus. You are like a true son to me in the faith we share.
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus’ Work in Crete
5 I left you in Crete so that you could finish doing the things that still needed to be done. I left you there also so that you could choose men to be elders in every town. 6 To be an elder, a man must not be guilty of doing wrong. He must have only one wife. His children must be believers. They must not be known as children who are wild and who do not obey. 7 An overseer has the job of taking care of God’s work. So he must not be guilty of doing wrong. He must not be a man who is proud and selfish or who becomes angry quickly. He must not drink too much wine. He must not be a person who likes to fight. And he must not be a person who always tries to get rich by cheating people. 8 An overseer must be ready to help others by accepting them into his home. He must love what is good. He must be wise. He must live right. He must be holy. And he must be able to control himself. 9 An overseer must faithfully follow the truth just as we teach it. He must be able to help people by using true and right teaching. And he must be able to show those who are against the true teaching that they are wrong.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.