Titus 1
1
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to#1:1 Or to strengthen the faith of. those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 2This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. 3And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him.
4I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.
Titus’s Work in Crete
5I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. 6An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife,#1:6 Or must have only one wife, or must be married only once; Greek reads must be the husband of one wife. and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. 7A church leader#1:7a Or An overseer, or A bishop. is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker,#1:7b Greek must not drink too much wine. violent, or dishonest with money.
8Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. 9He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.
10For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. 11They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money. 12Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.”#1:12 This quotation is from Epimenides of Knossos. 13This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith. 14They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth.
15Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.
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Titus 1: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Titus 1
1
1Greetings from Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help God’s chosen people have faith and understand the truth that produces a life of devotion to God. 2This faith and knowledge make us sure that we have eternal life. God promised that life to us before time began—and God does not lie. 3At the right time, God let the world know about that life. He did this through the telling of the Good News message, and he trusted me with that work. I told people that message because God our Savior commanded me to.
4To Titus, a true son to me in the faith we share together.
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus’ Work in Crete
5I left you in Crete so that you could finish doing what still needed to be done. And I also left you there so that you could choose men to be elders in every town. 6To be an elder, a man must not be guilty of living in a wrong way. He must be faithful to his wife,#1:6 faithful to his wife Literally, “a man of one woman.” and his children must be faithful to God.#1:6 faithful to God This word can mean “trustworthy” or “believers.” Here, both meanings may be included. Compare this verse with 1 Tim. 3:4. They must not be known as children who are wild or don’t obey. 7An elder#1:7 elder Here, literally, “overseer.” See “elders (New Testament)” in the Word List. has the job of taking care of God’s work. So people should not be able to say that he lives in a wrong way. He must not be someone who is proud and selfish or who gets angry quickly. He must not drink too much, and he must not be someone who likes to fight. He must not be a man who will do almost anything for money. 8An elder must be ready to help people by welcoming them into his home. He must love what is good. He must be wise. He must live right. He must be devoted to God and pleasing to him. And he must be able to control himself. 9An elder must be faithful to the same true message we teach. Then he will be able to encourage others with teaching that is true and right. And he will be able to show those who are against this teaching that they are wrong.
10This is important, because there are many people who refuse to obey—people who talk about worthless things and mislead others. I am talking especially about those who say that men who are not Jews must be circumcised to please God. 11These people must be stopped, because they are destroying whole families by teaching what they should not teach. They teach only to cheat people and make money. 12Even one of their own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars. They are evil animals and lazy people who do nothing but eat.” 13The words that prophet said are true. So tell those people that they are wrong. You must be strict with them. Then they will become strong in the faith, 14and they will stop paying attention to the stories told by those Jews. They will stop following the commands of those who have turned away from the truth.
15To people who are pure, everything is pure. But to those who are full of sin and don’t believe, nothing is pure. Really, their thinking has become evil and their consciences have been ruined. 16They say they know God, but the evil things they do show that they don’t accept him. They are disgusting. They refuse to obey God and are not capable of doing anything good.
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