To Titus
1 Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and the accurate knowledge of the truth that is according to godly devotion 2 and is based on a hope of the everlasting life+ that God, who cannot lie,+ promised long ago; 3 but in his own due time, he made his word known through the preaching entrusted to me+ according to the command of our Savior, God; 4 to Titus,+ a genuine child according to the faith we share:
May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
5 I left you in Crete+ so that you would correct the things that were defective and make appointments of elders in city after city, as I instructed you: 6 if there is any man free from accusation,+ a husband of one wife, having believing children who are not accused of debauchery or rebelliousness.+ 7 For as God’s steward, an overseer must be free from accusation, not self-willed,+ not quick-tempered,+ not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy of dishonest gain,+ 8 but hospitable,+ a lover of goodness, sound in mind,+ righteous, loyal,+ self-controlled,+ 9 holding firmly to the faithful word as respects his art of teaching,+ so that he may be able both to encourage by the teaching that is wholesome*+ and to reprove+ those who contradict.
10 For there are many rebellious men, profitless talkers, and deceivers, especially those who adhere to the circumcision.+ 11 It is necessary to shut their mouths, because these very men keep on subverting entire households by teaching things they should not for the sake of dishonest gain.+ 12 A certain one of them, their own prophet, said: “Creʹtans are always liars, injurious wild beasts, idle gluttons.”
13 This witness is true. For this very reason, keep on reproving+ them with severity so that they may be healthy in the faith, 14 paying no attention to Jewish fables+ and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 All things are clean to clean people;+ but to those who are defiled and faithless, nothing is clean, for both their minds and their consciences are defiled.+ 16 They publicly declare that they know God, but they disown him by their works,+ because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort.