1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – 2in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour,
4To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Appointing elders who love what is good
5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint1:5 Or ordain elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe1:6 Or children are trustworthy and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless – not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Rebuking those who fail to do good
10For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 11They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach – and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’1:12 From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides 13This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
1Ndine Paulo, mtumiki wa Mulungu, ndi mtumwi wa Yesu Khristu. Ndinatumidwa kuti nditsogolere amene Mulungu anawasankha ku chikhulupiriro ndi ku chidziwitso cha choonadi chimene chimawafikitsa ku moyo wolemekeza Mulungu 2ndi kuwapatsa chiyembekezo cha moyo wosatha, umene Mulungu amene sanama, analonjeza nthawi isanayambe. 3Pa nthawi yake Mulungu, Mpulumutsi wathu anawulula poyera mawu ake ndipo analamula kuti ndipatsidwe udindo wolalikira uthengawu.
4Kwa Tito, mwana wanga weniweni mʼchikhulupiriro cha ife tonse:
Chisomo ndi mtendere zochokera kwa Mulungu Atate ndi Khristu Yesu Mpulumutsi wathu.
Ntchito ya Tito ku Krete
5Ndinakusiya ku Krete kuti ulongosole zonse zimene ndinazisiya zisanathe ndiponso usankhe akulu ampingo mʼmizinda yonse, monga momwe ndinakulamulira. 6Mkulu wampingo akhale munthu wopanda cholakwa, akhale wa mkazi mmodzi yekha, munthu amene ana ake ndi okhulupirira, osati amakhalidwe oyipa ndi osamvera. 7Popeza mkulu wa mpingo amayendetsa ntchito za banja la Mulungu, ayenera kukhala wopanda cholakwa, asakhale womva zayekha, kapena wopsa mtima msanga, kapena womwa zoledzeretsa, kapena wandewu, kapena wopeza phindu mwachinyengo. 8Koma akhale wosamala bwino alendo, wokonda zabwino, wodziretsa, wolungama, woyera mtima ndi wosunga mwambo. 9Iye ayenera kugwiritsa mawu okhulupirika monga tinaphunzitsira, kuti athe kulimbikitsa ena ndi chiphunzitso choona ndiponso kugonjetsa amene atsutsana nacho.
Kudzudzula Olephera Kuchita Bwino
10Paja pali anthu ambiri osaweruzika, makamaka mʼgulu la anthu a mdulidwe, oyankhula nkhani zopanda pake ndi kusocheretsa anzawo. 11Ayenera kuletsedwa kuyankhula chifukwa akusokoneza mabanja athunthu pophunzitsa zinthu zomwe sayenera kuwaphunzitsa. Iwo amachita izi kuti apeze ndalama mwachinyengo. 12Mneneri wina, mmodzi wa iwo omwewo anati, “Akrete nthawi zonse ndi amabodza, akhalidwe loyipitsitsa ndiponso alesi adyera.” 13Mawu amenewa ndi woona. Nʼchifukwa chake, uwadzudzule mwamphamvu, kuti akhale ndi chikhulupiriro choona, 14kuti asasamalenso nthano za Chiyuda, ndi malamulo a anthu amene akukana choonadi. 15Kwa oyera mtima, zinthu zonse ndi zoyera, koma kwa amene ndi odetsedwa ndi osakhulupirira, palibe kanthu koyera. Kunena zoona, mitima yawo ndi chikumbumtima chawo, zonse nʼzodetsedwa. 16Iwo amati amadziwa Mulungu, pamene ndi zochita zawo amamukana. Ndi anthu onyansa ndi osamvera, ndi osayenera kuchita kalikonse kabwino.
