I.  Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's chosen, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness;

²upon hope of eternal life, which God, who can not lie, promised before eternal ages,

³but in its own times manifested his word in the preaching, with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of our Savior God;

⁴to Titus, a true child according to the common faith: Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵For this cause I left thee behind in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and appoint elders in each city, as I directed thee;

⁶if any one is without reproach, the husband of one wife, having believing children not accused of rioting or unruly.

⁷For the overseer must be, without reproach, as God's steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, not a striker, not greedy of gain;

⁸but hospitable, a lover of the good, discreet, just, holy, temperate;

⁹holding fast the faithful word according to the teaching, that he may be able with the sound teaching both to exhort, and to refute the gainsayers.

¹⁰For there are many unruly vain talkers and deceivers, chiefly they of the circumcision;

¹¹whose mouths must be stopped, who overturn whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of base gain.

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

¹³This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

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

¹⁵To the pure all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and conscience are defiled.

¹⁶They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and for every good work reprobate.