1 P aul, 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,

¶ Paul, slave of God, and apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness;

2 i n the hope of eternal life, which the ever truthful God Who cannot deceive promised before the world or the ages of time began.

for the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the times of the ages

3 A nd 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;

and has manifested in due times. It is his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

4 T o Titus, my true child according to a common (general) faith: Grace (favor and spiritual blessing) and peace from God the Father and the Lord Christ Jesus our Savior.

to Titus, true son in the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Christ, our Saviour.

5 F or this reason I left you 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.

¶ For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou should correct that which is lacking and set in place elders in every city, as I had commanded thee:

6 m en who are of unquestionable integrity and are irreproachable, the husband of one wife, whose children are believers, not open to the accusation of being loose in morals and conduct or unruly and disorderly.

¶ He who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children who can not be accused of dissoluteness, nor insubordinate.

7 F or 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);

For the bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God; not arrogant, not quick to anger, not given to wine, not hurtful, not greedy of dishonest gain,

8 B ut he must be hospitable (loving and a friend to believers, especially to strangers and foreigners); a lover of goodness, sober-minded (sensible, discreet), upright and fair-minded, a devout man and religiously correct, temperate and keeping himself in hand.

but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, temperate, just, holy, gentle,

9 H e 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.

holding fast the doctrine according to the faithful word, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

10 F or there are many disorderly and unruly men who are idle (vain, empty) and misleading talkers and self-deceivers and deceivers of others. especially of those of the circumcision party.

For there are many insubordinate and vain talkers and deceivers of souls, especially those of the circumcision,

11 T heir 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.

whose mouths it is expedient to stop, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain.

12 O ne of their number, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, hurtful beasts, idle and lazy gluttons.

One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies.

13 A nd this account of them is true. Because it is, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith and free from error,

This witness is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

14 c easing to give attention to Jewish myths and fables or to rules by men who reject and turn their backs on the Truth.

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

15 T o the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled and corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are defiled and polluted.

For unto the pure all things are pure, but unto those that are defiled and unfaithful, nothing is pure, but even their soul and conscience is defiled.

16 T hey profess to know God, but deny and disown and renounce Him by what they do; they are detestable and loathsome, unbelieving and disobedient and disloyal and rebellious, and unfit and worthless for good work (deed or enterprise) of any kind.

They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and rebellious and reprobate unto every good work.