| 1 | Paul, a bond servant of God and an apostle (a special messenger) of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) to stimulate
and
promote the faith of God’s chosen ones and to lead them on to accurate discernment
and
recognition of
and
acquaintance with the Truth which belongs to
and
harmonizes with
and
tends to godliness, |
| 2 | [Resting] in the hope of eternal life, [life] which the ever truthful God Who cannot deceive promised before the world
or
the ages of time began. |
| 3 | And [now] in His own appointed time He has made manifest (made known) His Word
and
revealed it as His message through the preaching entrusted to me by command of God our Savior; |
| 4 | To Titus, my true child according to a common (general) faith: Grace (favor and spiritual blessing) and [heart] peace from God the Father and
the Lord
Christ Jesus our Savior. |
| 5 | For this reason I left you [behind] in Crete, that you might set right what was defective
and
finish what was left undone, and that you might appoint elders
and
set them over the churches (assemblies) in every city as I directed you. |
| 6 | [These elders should be] men who are of unquestionable integrity
and
are irreproachable, the husband of [but] one wife, whose children are [well trained and are] believers, not open to the accusation of being loose in morals
and
conduct or unruly
and
disorderly. |
| 7 | For the bishop (an overseer) as God’s steward must be blameless, not self-willed
or
arrogant
or
presumptuous; he must not be quick-tempered or given to drink
or
pugnacious (brawling, violent); he must not be grasping
and
greedy for filthy lucre (financial gain); |
| 8 | But he must be hospitable (loving and a friend to believers, especially to strangers and foreigners); [he must be] a lover of goodness [of good people and good things], sober-minded (sensible, discreet), upright
and
fair-minded, a devout man
and
religiously correct, temperate
and
keeping himself in hand. |
| 9 | He must hold fast to the sure
and
trustworthy Word of God as he was taught it, so that he may be able both to give stimulating instruction
and
encouragement in sound (wholesome) doctrine and to refute
and
convict those who contradict
and
oppose it [showing the wayward their error]. |
| 10 | For there are many disorderly
and
unruly men who are idle (vain, empty)
and
misleading talkers and self-deceivers
and
deceivers of others. [This is true] especially of those of the circumcision party [who have come over from Judaism]. |
| 11 | Their mouths must be stopped, for they are mentally distressing
and
subverting whole families by teaching what they ought not to teach, for the purpose of getting base advantage
and
disreputable gain. |
| 12 | One of their [very] number, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, hurtful beasts, idle
and
lazy gluttons. |
| 13 | And this account of them is [really] true. Because it is [true], rebuke them sharply [deal sternly, even severely with them], so that they may be sound in the faith
and
free from error, |
| 14 | [And may show their soundness by] ceasing to give attention to Jewish myths
and
fables or to rules [laid down] by [mere] men who reject
and
turn their backs on the Truth. |
| 15 | To the pure [in heart and conscience] all things are pure, but to the defiled
and
corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are defiled
and
polluted. |
| 16 | They profess to know God [to recognize, perceive, and be acquainted with Him], but deny
and
disown
and
renounce Him by what they do; they are detestable
and
loathsome, unbelieving
and
disobedient
and
disloyal
and
rebellious, and [they are] unfit
and
worthless for good work (deed or enterprise) of any kind. |