| 1 | Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's chosen ones, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, |
| 2 | in hope of eternal life, which God, who can't lie, promised before time began; |
| 3 | but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior; |
| 4 | to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. |
| 5 | I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking, and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you; |
| 6 | if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior. |
| 7 | For the overseer must be blameless, as God's steward; not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain; |
| 8 | but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober minded, fair, holy, self-controlled; |
| 9 | holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him. |
| 10 | For there are also many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, |
| 11 | whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain's sake. |
| 12 | One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons." |
| 13 | This testimony is true. For this cause, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, |
| 14 | not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. |
| 15 | To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. |
| 16 | They profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work. |
