Qualifications for Overseers

1 ^bThe saying is trustworthy: ^cIf anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an ^doverseer¹ must be above reproach, ^ethe husband of one wife,² sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must ^fmanage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, ^ghow will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become ^hpuffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a ⁱsnare of the devil.

Qualifications for Deacons

8 ^jDeacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,³ not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must ^khold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And ^llet them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise⁴ must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be ^mthe husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great ⁿconfidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

The Mystery of Godliness

14 ^oI hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the ^phousehold of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we ^qconfess, is the mystery of godliness:

Greeting

1 Paul, a ^aservant¹ of God and an ^bapostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s ^celect and their ^dknowledge of the truth, ^ewhich accords with godliness, 2 in ^fhope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, ^gpromised before the ages began² 3 and ^hat the proper time ⁱmanifested in his word³ through the preaching with which I have been ^jentrusted ^kby the command of God our Savior;

4 To ^lTitus, ^mmy true child in a common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

5 ⁿThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and ^oappoint ^pelders in every town as I directed you— 6 ^qif anyone is above reproach, ^rthe husband of one wife,⁴ and his children are believers⁵ and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an ^soverseer,⁶ as God’s ^tsteward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or ^uquick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^vsound⁷ doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, ^wempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^xthe circumcision party.⁸ 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for ^yshameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 ^zOne of the Cretans,⁹ a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”¹⁰ 13 ^aThis testimony is true. Therefore ^brebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish ^cmyths and the ^dcommands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, ^eall things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ^ftheir minds and their ^gconsciences are defiled. 16 ^hThey profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.