1 P aul, bondman of God, and apostle of Jesus Christ according to faith of God's elect, and knowledge of truth which according to piety;

2 i n hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the ages of time,

3 b ut has manifested in its own due season his word, in proclamation with which I have been entrusted, according to commandment of our Saviour God;

4 t o Titus, my own child according to faith common: Grace and peace from God Father, and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

5 F or this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou mightest go on to set right what remained, and establish elders in each city, as I had ordered thee:

6 i f any one be free from all charge, husband of one wife, having believing children not accused of excess or unruly.

7 F or the overseer must be free from all charge as God's steward; not headstrong, not passionate, not disorderly through wine, not a striker, not seeking gain by base means;

8 b ut hospitable, a lover of goodness, discreet, just, pious, temperate,

9 c linging to the faithful word according to the doctrine taught, that he may be able both to encourage with sound teaching and refute gainsayers.

10 F or there are many and disorderly vain speakers and deceivers of people's minds, specially those of circumcision,

11 w ho must have their mouths stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which ought not for the sake of base gain.

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

13 T his testimony is true; for which cause rebuke them severely, that they may be sound in the faith,

14 n ot turning minds to Jewish fables and commandments of men turning away from the truth.

15 A ll things pure to the pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

16 T hey profess to know God, but in works deny, being abominable, and disobedient, and found worthless as to every good work.