Titus 1
Greeting
Paul, a servant of God and aan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and btheir knowledge of the truth, cwhich accords with godliness, 2 ain hope of eternal life, which God, bwho never lies, cpromised dbefore the ages began 3 and aat the proper time manifested in his word bthrough the preaching cwith which I have been entrusted dby the command of God our Savior;
4 To Titus, amy true child in ba common faith:
cGrace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Qualifications for Elders
5 aThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and bappoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 aif anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of bdebauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, aas God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not bbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent cor greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, aand disciplined. 9 He must ahold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in bsound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
10 For there are many who are insubordinate, aempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of bthe circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since athey are upsetting whole families by teaching bfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 aOne of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore arebuke them bsharply, that they cmay be sound in the faith, 14 anot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and bthe commands of people cwho turn away from the truth. 15 aTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and bunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ctheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 aThey profess to know God, but they bdeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, cunfit for any good work.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.