A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
2 You then, my child, nbe strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses oentrust to faithful men,1 who will be able to teach others also. 3 pShare in suffering as a good qsoldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not rcrowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 sIt is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, trisen from the dead, the uoffspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. vBut the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I wendure everything xfor the sake of the yelect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 zThe saying is trustworthy, for:
aIf we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also breign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 cif we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
A Worker Approved by God
14 Remind them of these things, and dcharge them before God2 not to equarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to fpresent yourself to God as one approved,3 a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the gword of truth. 16 But havoid iirreverent babble, for it will lead people into jmore and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are kHymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have lswerved from the truth, msaying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: n“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who onames the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
20 Now in a great phouse there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, qsome for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, rif anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,4 he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, sready for every good work.
22 So tflee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, ulove, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant vcontroversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant5 must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 wcorrecting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the xsnare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
Godlessness in the Last Days
3 But understand this, that yin the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, zproud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, aswollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. bAvoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a cknowledge of the truth. 8 Just as dJannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men ecorrupted in mind and fdisqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
10 gYou, however, have hfollowed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at iAntioch, at jIconium, and at kLystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord lrescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a mgodly life in Christ Jesus nwill be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on ofrom bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom1 you learned it 15 and how pfrom childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 qAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the rman of God2 may be complete, sequipped for every good work.
Preach the Word
4 I tcharge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, uwho is to judge the living and the dead, and by his vappearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; wreprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 xFor the time is coming when people will not endure ysound1 teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and zwander off into amyths. 5 But as for you, always be sober-minded, bendure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, cfulfill your ministry.
6 dFor I am already being epoured out as a drink offering, and the time of my fdeparture has come. 7 I have fought the ggood fight, I have hfinished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is ilaid up for me the jcrown of righteousness, which the Lord, the krighteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Personal Instructions
9 Do your best lto come to me soon. 10 For mDemas, nin love with othis present world, phas deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,2 qTitus to Dalmatia. 11 rLuke alone is with me. Get sMark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 tTychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 uAlexander the coppersmith did me great harm; vthe Lord will repay him waccording to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first xdefense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and ystrengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and zall the Gentiles might hear it. So I was arescued bfrom the lion’s mouth. 18 cThe Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. dTo him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19 Greet ePrisca and Aquila, and the household of fOnesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.3
Titus
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.
Teach Sound Doctrine
2 But as for you, teach what accords with isound1 doctrine. 2 jOlder men are to be sober-minded, dignified, kself-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, lpure, mworking at home, kind, and nsubmissive to their own husbands, othat the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a pmodel of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, qso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 rBondservants2 are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
11 For sthe grace of God has appeared, bringing tsalvation ufor all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly vpassions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and wgodly lives in xthe present age, 13 ywaiting for our blessed hope, the zappearing of the glory of aour great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself ba people for his own possession who are zealous cfor good works.
15 Declare these things; dexhort and erebuke with all authority. fLet no one disregard you.
