Titus 1

¹Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that accords with devotion to God, ²in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ³But at his own appointed times he revealed his word through the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.

⁴To Titus, a genuine child in our shared faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵I left you in Crete for this reason: to put in order what remained unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶An elder must be beyond accusation, the husband of one wife, with believing children who are neither accused of reckless living nor rebellious. ⁷For an overseer must be beyond accusation as God's steward—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for shameful gain, ⁸but hospitable, a lover of what is good, self-controlled, righteous, devout, and disciplined. ⁹He must hold firmly to the trustworthy word that accords with the teaching, so that he can both encourage others with healthy teaching and refute those who contradict it.

¹⁰For there are also many rebellious people, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision. ¹¹They must be silenced, because they overturn whole households, teaching what they should not for shameful gain. ¹²One of their own, a prophet of theirs, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies.” ¹³This testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may be healthy in the faith, ¹⁴paying no attention to Jewish myths and commands of people who turn away from the truth. ¹⁵Everything is pure to the pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; both their mind and their conscience have been defiled. ¹⁶They profess to know God, but deny him by their deeds. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

Translation notes 7

1:1–3 — Faith, truth, and promise. “For the faith” takes Paul's commission as serving the faith of God's chosen people; “in accordance with the faith” is another possible construction. “Before the ages began” renders an expression literally referring to times of ages past. The sentence moves from the promised life to the revealed word without explaining to whom the promise was made.

1:4 — Child and Savior. “Child” expresses Paul's relationship with Titus through their shared faith; the Greek does not say “son.” Both God and Christ Jesus are called “our Savior” in the opening. The base has “grace and peace”; the edition apparatus also records “grace, mercy, peace” and the longer name “Lord Jesus Christ.”

1:5–7 — Elders and overseer. The move from “elders” to “an overseer,” introduced by “for,” most naturally describes the same leadership responsibility. “Steward” is a manager entrusted with another's household or property. “An elder must be” makes explicit the qualification introduced in Greek by “if anyone is.”

1:6 — Wife and children. “Husband of one wife” preserves the marital expression without deciding whether its chief concern is fidelity, multiple spouses, or remarriage. The Greek does not explicitly add “if married.” “Believing children” is provisional; “faithful” or “trustworthy children” is a substantial alternative, especially in light of the following description of conduct.

1:9, 13 — Healthy teaching and faith. “Healthy” preserves the recurring health language, commonly translated “sound.” The image returns in chapter 2. The goal of the sharp rebuke is restored health in faith.

1:10–14 — Opponents and the Cretan saying. “Those of the circumcision” identifies a circumcised, Jewish-connected group without specifying all its teachings. The saying in verse 12 is traditionally attributed to Epimenides. “Lazy bellies” retains its insulting picture of idle appetites, commonly expressed as “lazy gluttons.” The letter endorses the harsh saying and applies it to the people being rebuked; that severity has not been softened.

1:15–16 — Purity and deeds. The purity claim occurs in a dispute about teachings and commands. It does not call the disobedient conduct condemned in verse 16 pure. The contrast between professed knowledge and deeds introduces the letter's recurring concern with good works.