Titus PAUL, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, in the faith of GodÆs elect, and in the knowledge of true godliness;

Lamsa⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ PAUL, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, in the faith of GodÆs elect, and in the knowledge of true godliness; ² In the hope of eternal life, which the true God promised ages ago; ³ And has in due time revealed his word by our preaching; which preaching has been intrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour; ⁴ To Titus, a true son in the common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father, and the LORD Jesus Christ our Saviour. ⁵ For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city where there is a need as I had commanded you. ⁶ Appoint only an elder who is blameless, and the husband of one wife, and one who has faithful children who do not swear and who are not intemperate. ⁷ For an elder must be blameless, as a steward of God; and he must not be self-willed, not quick tempered, not excessive in the use of wine, not too ready to strike with his hand, not a lover of filthy lucre; ⁸ But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good things, sober, just, pious, and temperate of worldly desires; ⁹ Holding fast the doctrine of faith, so that he may be able to comfort by his sound doctrine, and to rebuke those who are proud. ¹⁰ For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers of the people, especially those who belong to the circumcision: ¹¹ Whose mouths must be stopped, for they corrupt many families, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of filthy lucre. ¹² One of them, even a prophet of their own, said, The CreÆtians are always liars, vicious beasts with empty bellies. ¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; ¹⁴ And not give heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who hate the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure: but nothing is pure to those who are defiled and faithless; even their mind and conscience is defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but in works they deny him, and they are abominable, and disobedient, condemning every kind of good work.