1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's chosen ones, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. 2It is in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal. 3In his own time he made his word known through the message that was entrusted to me according to the commandment of God our Savior. 4To Titus, my true child sharing a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5I left you in Crete for this purpose, that you should correct the things that were defective, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave you orders. 6A blameless man will be the husband of one wife. He will have children that believe and who are not accused of violence and disobedience. 7The overseer must be blameless as God's steward. He must not be self-willed, not prone to anger, not a brawler, and not violent quarrelsomepugnacious, not greedy of dishonest gain. 8but given to hospitality, as a lover of good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled; 9holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to reprove refuterebuke those who contradict. 10There are many unruly rebellious men, vain talkers, and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision. 11They must be stopped. Their mouths must be shut up, for they subvert entire households. They teach things that should not be taught, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12One of them, a prophet of their own, said: »Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.« 13This testimony is true. For this 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 those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure. Both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16They profess that they know God; but deny him by their works! They are detestable, disobedient, and not approved for any good work.