Titus 1

Noyes^{(i) 1} Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Christ Jesus, for the faith of Gods elect, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, ² in hope of everlasting life, which God, who cannot lie, promised from the most ancient times, ³ but in his own seasons manifested his word through the preaching with which I was intrusted by the commandment of God our Saviour: ⁴ to Titus, true child after the common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. ⁵ For this cause I left thee behind in Crete, that thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I directed thee; ⁶ if any one is without reproach, the husband of one wife, having believing children, that are not accused of dissoluteness, or unruly. ⁷ For a bishop must be without reproach, as Gods steward; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, not a striker, not greedy of base gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of what is good, discreet, just, holy, temperate, ⁹ holding fast the sure word according to what he was taught, that he may be able by sound teaching both to exhort, and to refute the gainsayers. ¹⁰ For there are many unruly vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the circumcision; ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped, since they overturn whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of base gain. ¹² One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said: "The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slothful gluttons." ¹³ This testimony is true; for which cause rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their mind and conscience are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and for every good work reprobate.