| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, | 1This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. |
| 2in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. | 2This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. |
| 3In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior. | 3And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him. |
| 4To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. | 4I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace. Titus’s Work in Crete |
| 5The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. | 5I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. |
| 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination. | 6An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. |
| 7As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. | 7A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. |
| 8Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. | 8Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. |
| 9He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it. | 9He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong. |
| 10For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, | 10For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. |
| 11who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not. | 11They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money. |
| 12As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” | 12Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.” |
| 13This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith | 13This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith. |
| 14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth. | 14They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth. |
| 15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. | 15Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. |
| 16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed. | 16Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good. |
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