Titus (The Epistle of Paul to )

Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to [the] faith of [the] elect of God and full knowledge of [the] truth according to godliness,

on hope of eternal life which the God who does not lie promised before [the] eternal times,

but revealed in its own times in a proclamation of His word, with which I was entrusted by [the] command of our Savior God:

to Titus, a true child according to [our] common faith. Grace, mercy, peace from God [the] Father and [the] Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

For this cause I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I ordered you:

If anyone is blameless, husband of one wife, having faithful children, not in accusation of loose behavior, or disobedient,

(for the overseer must be blameless as a steward of God), not self-pleasing, not prone to anger, not given to wine, not a quarreler, not greedy of ill gain;

but hospitable, a lover of good, discreet, just, holy, temperate,

clinging to the faithful word according to the teaching, that he may be able both to encourage by sound doctrine and to convict the [ones] contradicting.

For there are indeed many disobedient men, empty talkers and mind-deluders, especially those of [the] circumcision,

whose mouth [you] must stop, who overturn whole houses, teaching things which [they] ought not for the sake of ill gain.

One of them, a prophet of their own, said: Cretans [are] always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.

This testimony is true; for which cause convict them severely, that they may be sound in the faith,

not listening to Jewish myths and commandments of men, having turned away from the truth.

Truly, all things [are] pure to the pure, but to the ones having been defiled and unbelieving, nothing [is] pure, but even their mind and conscience has been defiled.

They profess to know God, but by [their] works they deny [Him], being abominable and disobedient, and worthless to every good work.