Tit 1 | BSB | STEP | Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ in service of [the] faith of God’s elect and [of their] knowledge of [the] truth that leads to godliness,

‏ Titus 1

Paul's Greeting to Titus

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ in service of [the] faith of God’s elect and [of their] knowledge of [the] truth that leads to godliness, 2 in [the] hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. 3 [In His] own time, He has revealed His message in [the] proclamation entrusted to me by [the] command of God our Savior. 4 To Titus, [my] true child in [our] common faith: Grace and peace from God [the] Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Appointing Elders on Crete

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. 6 [An elder must] be blameless, [the] husband of but one wife, ^{▼▼or faithful to his wife} having children who are believers [and are] not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination. 7 As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach— not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. 8 Instead, [he must be] hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, [and] disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it was taught, so that by sound teaching he will be able to encourage [others] and refute those who contradict [this message] .

Correcting False Teachers

10 For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced. For [the] sake of dishonorable gain, [they] undermine entire households [and] teach things they should not. 12 [As] one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans [are] always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ^{▼▼This quote has been attributed to the Cretan philosopher Epimenides} 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 [and] will pay no attention to Jewish myths [or] [to the] commands of men who have rejected the truth. 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. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny [Him] by [their] actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.