Titus 1

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of the choice ones of God, and an acknowledging of truth that [is] according to piety,

Paul, a bondservant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ for building up the faith of God's own people and spreading a full knowledge of the truths of religion,

2 upon hope of life age-during, which God, who doth not lie, did promise before times of ages, (aiōnios g166)

in hope of the Life of the Ages which God, who is never false to His word, promised before the commencement of the Ages. (aiōnios g166)

3 (and He manifested in proper times His word, ) in preaching, which I was entrusted with, according to a charge of God our Saviour,

And at the appointed time He clearly made known His Message in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Saviour:

4 to Titus — true child according to a common faith: Grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour!

To Titus my own true child in our common faith. May grace and peace be granted to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that the things lacking thou mayest arrange, and mayest set down in every city elders, as I did appoint to thee;

I have left you behind in Crete in order that you may set right the things which still require attention, and appoint Elders in every town, as I directed you to do;

6 if any one is blameless, of one wife a husband, having children stedfast, not under accusation of riotous living or insubordinate —

wherever there is a man of blameless life, true to his one wife, having children who are themselves believers and are free from every reproach of profligacy or of stubborn self-will.

7 for it behoveth the overseer to be blameless, as God's steward, not self-pleased, nor irascible, not given to wine, not a striker, not given to filthy lucre;

For, as God's steward, a minister must be of blameless life, not over-fond of having his own way, not a man of a passionate temper nor a hard drinker, not given to blows nor greedy of gain,

8 but a lover of strangers, a lover of good men, sober-minded, righteous, kind, self-controlled,

but hospitable to strangers, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, upright, saintly, self-controlled;

9 holding — according to the teaching — to the stedfast word, that he may be able also to exhort in the sound teaching, and the gainsayers to convict;

holding fast to the faithful Message which he has received, so that he may be well qualified both to encourage others with sound teaching and to reply successfully to opponents.

10 for there are many both insubordinate, vain-talkers, and mind-deceivers — especially they of the circumcision —

For there are many that spurn authority--idle, talkative and deceitful persons, who, for the most part, are adherents of the Circumcision.

11 whose mouth it behoveth to stop, who whole households do overturn, teaching what things it behoveth not, for filthy lucre's sake.

You must stop the mouths of such men, for they overthrow the faith of whole families, teaching what they ought not, just for the sake of making money.

12 A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said — 'Cretans! always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies!'

One of their own number--a Prophet who is a countryman of theirs--has said, "Cretans are always liars, dangerous animals, idle gluttons."

13 this testimony is true; for which cause convict them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

This testimony is true. Therefore sternly denounce them, that they may be robust in their faith,

14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commands of men, turning themselves away from the truth;

and not give attention to Jewish legends and the maxims of men who turn their backs on the truth.

15 all things, indeed, [are] pure to the pure, and to the defiled and unstedfast [is] nothing pure, but of them defiled [are] even the mind and the conscience;

To the pure everything is pure; but to the polluted and unbelieving nothing is pure, but on the contrary their very minds and consciences are polluted.

16 God they profess to know, and in the works they deny [Him], being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work disapproved.

They profess to know God; but in their actions they disown Him, and are detestable and disobedient men, and for any good work are utterly useless.