Greetings
1 Paul, a slave of God and an emissary of Messiah Yeshua, for the faith of God’s chosen and the knowledge of truth that is in keeping with godliness, 2 based on the hope of eternal life. God—who cannot lie[a]—promised this before the beginning of time. 3 But in His own time He made His message known, through a proclamation with which I was entrusted, by the command of God our Savior.
4 To Titus, a true child of our common faith:
Grace and shalom from God the Father and Messiah Yeshua, our Savior!
Setting the Community in Order
5 The reason I left you in Crete was so that you would set in order the things that remain and appoint elders in every city as I directed you— 6 if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children of faith with no charge of wild living or rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be blameless as God’s administrator—not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain. 8 Rather he must be hospitable, loving what is good, self-controlled, upright, devout, disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message in keeping with the teaching, so he can both encourage by instruction that is sound and convict those who speak against it.
10 For there are many who are rebellious, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those from the circumcision. 11 They must be silenced—those who upset entire households by teaching what they should not, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so they might be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Judaic myths and commands 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. Both their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They claim to know God but their deeds deny Him. They are despicable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Footnotes
- Titus 1:2 cf. Num. 23:19.