Titus 1

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of the elect of God and the acknowledging of the truth, which is according to godliness:

From Paul, a servant of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, charged to strengthen the faith of God’s Chosen People, and their knowledge of that Truth which makes for godliness

2 Unto the hope of life everlasting, which God, who lieth not, hath promised before the times of the world: (aiōnios g166)

and is based on the hope of Immortal Life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began, (aiōnios g166)

3 But hath in due times manifested his word in preaching, which is committed to me according to the commandment of God our Saviour:

and has revealed at his own time in his Message, with the proclamation of which I was entrusted by the command of God our Saviour.

4 To Titus my beloved son, according to the common faith, grace and peace from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Saviour.

To Titus, my true Child in our one Faith: May God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Saviour, bless you and give you peace.

5 For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and shouldest ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee:

My reason for leaving you in Crete was that you might put in order what had been left unsettled, and appoint Officers of the Church in the various towns, as I myself directed you.

6 If any be without crime, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot, or unruly.

They are to be men of irreproachable character, who are faithful husbands, whose children are Christians and have never been charged with dissolute conduct or have been unruly.

7 For a bishop must be without crime, as the steward of God: not proud, not subject to anger, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre:

For a Presiding-Officer, as God’s steward, ought to be a man of irreproachable character; not self-willed or quick-tempered, nor addicted to drink or to brawling or to questionable money-making.

8 But given to hospitality, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent:

On the contrary, he should be hospitable, eager for the right, discreet, upright, a man of holy life and capable of self-restraint,

9 Embracing that faithful word which is according to doctrine, that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine, and to convince the gainsayers.

who holds doctrine that can be relied on as being in accordance with the accepted Teaching; so that he may be able to encourage others by sound teaching, as well as to refute our opponents.

10 For there are also many disobedient, vain talkers, and seducers: especially they who are of the circumcision:

There are, indeed, many unruly persons — great talkers who deceive themselves, principally converts from Judaism,

11 Who must be reproved, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

whose mouths ought to be stopped; for they upset whole households by teaching what they ought not to teach, merely to make questionable gains.

12 One of them a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies.

It was a Cretan — one of their own teachers — who said: ‘Cretans are always liars, base brutes, and gluttonous idlers’; and his statement is true.

13 This testimony is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the Faith,

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

and may pay no attention to Jewish legends, or to the directions of those who turn their backs upon the Truth.

15 All things are clean to the clean: but to them that are defiled, and to unbelievers, nothing is clean: but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

Everything is pure to the pure-minded, but to those whose minds are polluted and who are unbelievers nothing is pure. Their minds and consciences are alike polluted.

16 They profess that they know God: but in their works they deny him; being abominable, and incredulous, and to every good work reprobate.

They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown him. They are degraded and self-willed; and, as far as anything good is concerned, they are utterly worthless.