Paul’s Greeting to Titus
(2 Corinthians 8:16–24)

1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of the chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth that is according to godliness, 2upon the hope of eternal life, which God, who is without falsehood, promised before times eternal† 3and revealed in His own seasons in His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the command of God our Savior.

4To Titus, my genuine child according to a common faith:

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

Appointing Elders on Crete
(1 Timothy 3:1–7; 1 Peter 5:1–4)

5For the sake of this I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things lacking and might appoint elders in every city, as I directed you, 6if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife,† having believing children, not under accusation of debauchery, or insubordinate.

7For it is necessary for the overseer to be blameless, as God’s steward—not self-pleasing, not prone to anger, not given to wine, not a striker, not greedy for shameful gain, 8but hospitable, a lover of good, sound-minded, righteous, holy, and self-controlled, 9holding to the faithful word according to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound teaching and to convict those contradicting it.

Correcting False Teachers
(1 Timothy 1:3–11)

10For there are also many insubordinate ones, empty talkers, and mind-deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11whom it is necessary to silence, who overturn whole households, teaching things that it is necessary not to teach, for the sake of shameful gain. 12One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”†

13This testimony is true, through which cause you are to rebuke them severely, so that they may be sound in the faith, 14not giving heed to Jewish myths and commandments of men turning away from the truth.

15All things are pure to the pure; but to those being defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. But both their mind and conscience are defiled. 16They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient and unfit for any good work.

Footnotes:

2 Or before time began
4 BYZ and TR include mercy.
4 BYZ and TR and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior
6 Or faithful to his wife
12 This quote, also known as the Epimenides paradox, has been attributed to the Cretan philosopher Epimenides of Knossos.