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¹ PAUL, a servant of God, and a legate of Jesus the Messiah; according to the faith of the elect of God, and the knowledge of the truth which is in the fear of God,² concerning the hope of eternal life, which the veracious God promised before the times of the world;³ and in due time he hath manifested his word, by means of our announcement, which was confided to me by the command of God our Life-giver;⁴ to Titus, a real son after the common faith: Grace and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus the Messiah, our Life-giver.

⁵ For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou mightest regulate the things deficient, and establish elders in every city, as I directed thee:

⁶ him who is blameless, who is the husband of one wife, and hath believing children, who are no revellers, nor ungovernable in sensuality.⁷ For an elder ought to be blameless, as the steward of God; and not be self-willed, nor irascible, nor excessive in wine, nor with hands swift to strike, nor a lover of base gains.⁸ But he should be a lover of strangers, and a lover of good [fn] , and be sober, upright, kind-hearted, and restraining himself from evil passions; ⁹ and studious of the doctrine of the word of faith, that he may be able by his wholesome teaching both to console, and to rebuke them that are contentious.¹⁰ For many are unsubmissive, and their discourses vain; and they mislead the minds of people, especially such as are of the circumcision.¹¹ The mouth of these ought to be stopped: they corrupt many families; and they teach what they ought not, for the sake of base gains.¹² One of them, a prophet of their own, said, The Cretans are always mendacious, evil beasts, idle bellies.¹³ And this testimony is true. Therefore chide them sharply; that they may be sound in the faith,¹⁴ and may not throw themselves into Jewish fables, and into the precepts of men who hate the truth.¹⁵ For to the pure, every thing is pure; but to them who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but their understanding is defiled, and their conscience.¹⁶ And they profess that they know God, but in their works they deny him; and they are odious, and disobedient, and to every good work reprobates.