1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness-- 1:2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 1:3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

1:4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

1:4b Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Titus' Task on Crete

1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 1:6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 1:7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 1:8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 1:9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

1:10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 1:11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 1:12 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 1:13 This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 1:14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 1:16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.