1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of the chosen ones of God, and an acknowledging of truth that is according to piety, 2 on hope of continuous life, which God, who does not lie, promised before times of ages 3 (and He revealed His word in His own times), in preaching, which I was entrusted with, according to a charge of God our Savior, 4 to Titus—true child according to a common faith: Grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior! 5 For this cause I left you in Crete, that you may arrange the things lacking, and may set elders down in every city, as I appointed to you, 6 if anyone is blameless, a husband of one wife, having believing children, not under accusation of riotous living or insubordinate— 7 for it is required of the overseer to be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-pleased, nor prone to anger, not given to wine, not an abuser, not given to shameful gain, 8 but a lover of strangers, a lover of the good, sober-minded, righteous, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding—according to the teaching—to the steadfast word, that he may also be able to exhort in the sound teaching, and to convict the deniers; 10 for there are many both insubordinate, vain-talkers, and mind-deceivers—especially those of the circumcision— 11 whose mouths must be covered, who overturn whole households, teaching what things it should not, for the sake of shameful gain. 12 A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans! Always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies!” 13 This testimony is true; for which cause convict them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commands of men, turning themselves away from the truth. 15 All things, indeed, are pure to the pure, and nothing is pure to the defiled and unsteadfast, but even the mind and the conscience of them is defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works, being abominable, and disobedient, and disapproved to every good work.