¹ Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledgement of the truth, which is according to godliness;

² in hope of eternal life, which God, who can not lie, promised be fore the times of the ages,

³ but he has in his own times manifested his word by preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

⁴ to Titus, my true son, according to the common faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

⁵ I left you in Crete for this purpose, that you might set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I commanded you:

⁶ if any one is blameless, the husband of one wife, if he has faithful children that are not accused of riotous living, or disobedient.

⁷ For the bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not passionate, not fond of wine, not quarrelsome, not one who makes money by base means;

⁸ but hospitable, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, just, holy, temperate,

⁹ holding fast the sure word as it is taught, that he may be able, by sound teaching, both to exhort and to convince the opposers.

¹⁰ For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,

¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped: these subvert whole houses by teaching, for the sake of base gain, things which they ought not to teach.

¹² One of themselves, a prophet of their own, has said: The Cretans are always liars, evil wild beasts, lazy gluttons.

¹³ This testimony is true; wherefore rebuke them severely, that they may be sound in the faith,

¹⁴ and not give heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men that turn away from the truth.

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure: but to the denied and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but their mind and their conscience are denied.

¹⁶ They profess that they know God, but in their works they deny him, being detestable and disobedient, and, as it respects every good work, rejected.