A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
Titus 1
Titus 1 is the opening chapter of the fifty-sixth book of the Bible. The 16-verse chapter opens Paul's letter to his coworker Titus, whom he has left on the island of Crete to organize the churches there and silence false teachers.
The chapter opens with one of Paul's longer greetings. He identifies himself as a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, sent for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life. He addresses Titus as his true son in the common faith.
Paul gets to the assignment quickly. He left Titus in Crete to set in order what was left unfinished and to appoint elders in every town, as Paul had directed. The qualifications follow. An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with believing children who are not open to charges of debauchery or insubordination.
Because an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless, not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for gain. Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of what is good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can both encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
The chapter then turns to the local problem. There are many rebellious people on Crete, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they should not, for the sake of dishonest gain.
The chapter quotes a Cretan poet who said Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons, and observes that this testimony is true. The chapter closes by describing the false teachers as people who claim to know God but deny him by their actions, being detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.
Verse 1. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,
Verse 2. in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
Verse 3. In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
Verse 4. To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Verse 5. The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Verse 6. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.
Verse 7. As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
Verse 8. Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
Verse 9. He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.
Verse 10. For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,
Verse 11. who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.
Verse 12. As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Verse 13. This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith
Verse 14. and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.
Verse 15. To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
Verse 16. They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
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