Titus 1:13

1:13 This is true: See study note on 1:12. • Being strong in the faith is here defined as rejecting false teachings (cp. 1:9).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tit 1:13. Ἀληθὴς, true) Although it comes from a Cretan.—ἔλεγχε, rebuke) The chief part of the rebuke follows.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tit_1:13. In confirmation of the verse quoted, Paul says: ἡ μαρτυρία αὕτη ἐστὶν ἀληθής, and attaches to it an exhortation to Titus. Bertholdt, without reason, holds this verse to be a later interpolation.

διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν] see 2Ti_1:6. Chrysostom: ΔΙᾺ ΤΟῦΤΟ· ἘΠΕΙΔῊ ἬΘΟς ΑὐΤΟῖς ἘΣΤῚΝ ἸΤΑΜῸΝ ΚΑῚ ΔΟΛΕΡῸΝ ΚΑῚ ἈΚΌΛΑΣΤΟΝ; it refers to the picture of the Cretan character given in the testimony.

ἜΛΕΓΧΕ ΑὐΤΟῪς ἈΠΟΤΌΜΩς] ἜΛΕΓΧΕ, as in Tit_1:9; the apostle here drops all reference to the bishops to be appointed, and assigns to Titus himself the duty of applying a remedy (Wiesinger).

ΑὐΤΟΎς] not so much the heretics as the Cretans, who were exposed to their misleading influence. These latter needed the ἘΛΈΓΧΕΙΝ, because they were not resisting the heretics as they ought, but (as ΟἽΤΙΝΕς ὍΛΟΥς ΟἼΚΟΥς ἈΝΑΤΡΈΠΟΥΙ shows) were yielding to them easily.

ἈΠΟΤΌΜΩς] sharply, strictly; elsewhere only in 2Co_13:10; the substantive ἈΠΟΤΟΜΊΑ in Rom_11:22.

ἽΝΑ ὙΓΙΑΊΝΩΣΙΝ ἘΝ Τῇ ΠΊΣΤΕΙ] that they may be sound in the faith. De Wette takes this as the immediate contents of the ἐλέγχειν, just as ἽΝΑ occurs with ΠΑΡΑΚΑΛΕῖΝ, but without good grounds. ἘΝ here is not instrumental (Heinrichs: per religionem), but ΠΊΣΤΙς is the subject in which they are to be sound.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tit 1:13 . διʼ ἥν αἰτίαν : See on 2Ti 1:6 .

ἀποτόμως : severely . The noun ἀποτομία , severitas , occurs Rom 11:22 . See Moulton and Milligan, Expositor , vii., vi. 192.

ἵνα ὑγιαίνωσιν : See note on 1Ti 1:10 . The intention of the reproof was not merely the securing of a controversial triumph, but “to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred, and are deceived”. ἵνα expresses the object aimed at in the reproof, not the substance of it.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Roughly and plainly, and go not about the bush with them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

This witness--"This testimony (though coming from a Cretan) is true."

sharply--Gentleness would not reclaim so perverse offenders.

that they--that those seduced by the false teachers may be brought back to soundness in the faith. Their malady is strifes about words and questions (Tit 3:9; Ti1 6:4).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse.13. This witness is true.] What Epimenides said of them nearly 600 years before continued still to be true. Their original character had undergone no moral change.

Rebuke them sharply] αποτομως. Cuttingly, severely; show no indulgence to persons guilty of such crimes.

That they may be sound in the faith] That they may receive the incorrupt doctrine, and illustrate it by a holy and useful life.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. This testimony is true. How worthiness soever the witness may have been, yet the truth which has been spoken by him is acknowledged by Paul. The inhabitants of Crete, of whom he speaks with such sharpness were undoubtedly very wicked. The Apostle, who is wont to reprove mildly those who deserved to be treated with extreme severity, would never have spoken so harshly of the Cretans, if he had not been moved by very strong reasons. What term more reproachful than these opprobrious epithets can be imagined; that they were “lazy, devoted to the belly, destitute of truth, evil beasts?” Nor are these vices charged against one or a few persons, but he condemns the whole nation.

It was truly a wonderful purpose of God, that he called a nation so depraved, and so infamous on account of its vices, to be among the first who should partake of the gospel; but his goodness is not less worthy of admiration, in having bestowed heavenly grace on those who did not even deserve to live in this world. In that country so corrupt, as if in the midst of hell, the Church of Christ held a position, and did not cease to be extended, though it was infected by the corruption of the evils which prevailed there; for here Paul not only reproves those who were strangers to the faith, but expressly reproves those who had made a profession of Christianity. Perceiving that these vices so hateful have already taken root, and are spreading far and wide, he does not spare the reputation of the whole nation, that he may attempt the care of those whom there was some hope of healing.

Wherefore rebuke them sharply Of that circumspection and prudence with which a bishop ought to be endowed, it is not the least part, that he regulate his manner of teaching by the dispositions and conduct of men. We must not deal with obstinate and unruly persons in the same manner as with those who are meek and teachable; for, in instructing the latter, we ought to use such mildness as is suitable to their teachable disposition, while the stubbornness of the former must be severely corrected, and (as the saying is) for a bad knot there must be a bad wedge. The reason why Titus ought to be more sharp and severe in rebuking them has been already stated, namely, that they are “evil beasts.”

That they may be sound in the faith Whether the “soundness” or “healthfulness” is here contrasted with the diseases which he has mentioned, or whether he simply commands them to remain in the sound faith, is uncertain. I prefer the latter view. As they already are exceedingly vicious, and may easily be corrupted more and more, he wishes them to be more closely and strictly kept within the pure faith.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(13) This witness is true.—St. Paul emphatically here endorses the very severe judgment which their own great prophet-poet had written on the national Cretan character. He (St. Paul) had lived long enough in their midst to be able to bear his grave testimony to the truth of Epimenides’ words. He had witnessed the sad havoc in Christian life which their evil national propensities had caused.

Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.—Some render, wherefore confute, that is to say, set them right, sharply (apotomôs). The substantive apotomia, translated in the English version “severity,” is used in the passage about the “wild olive tree” (Rom_11:22). As a surgeon’s knife cuts away the diseased and mortifying flesh, so must the words and discipline of Titus, the Apostle’s representative in Crete, sharply rebuke, and, if need be, punish the sinning members of the congregation. Not merely the false teachers—the deceivers—are referred to here, but also the deceived, those whole households mentioned in Tit_1:11; and the object of this severity in words and acts was that the lapsed, the doctrinally and morally sick, among the Cretan Christians, should be restored to health again; and the sound state of faith and practice would, St. Paul proceeded to show, consist in “the rejection of Jewish fables and the commandments of these men.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. This witness is true] Not to be taken, as Dr Farrar says, au pied de la lettre, as though the Cretans were indiscriminately wicked. Nor to be taken as authority for ‘scolding’ in the modern sermon. The spirit of St Paul and of Titus must be taken with the letter: and the counsel of Bp Wilberforce remembered, ‘speak straight to them, as you would beg your life, or counsel your son, or call your dearest friend from a burning house, in plain, strong, earnest words’ (Ordination Charge, 1846).

rebuke them sharply] As above, convict or confute, Tit_1:9. R.V. loses much by ‘reprove,’ which is even weaker than ‘rebuke’ and quite unequal to the burden of ‘confute and condemn.’ The substantive corresponding to ‘sharply’ occurs Rom_11:22, in the metaphor of the cutting out of the evil branches from the olive tree, ‘the goodness and severity of God;’ and the adverb itself in 2Co_13:10 in reference to the severe measures to be taken by St Paul at Corinth, ‘that I may not when present deal sharply.’ Dr Reynolds puts the drift well: ‘a sharp knife, firm handling, free incisions, are needed for some poisonous and putrefying sores; and as in former days Titus had to shew the Corinthians how to purge out the old leaven, to deliver wicked persons to Satan, to rebuke pretentious Sciolism, so once more out of sheer kindness he was commanded not to spare them.’

that they may be sound in the faith] Again ‘healthy,’ ‘healthful,’ keeping up, with this ‘Pastoral’ word, the metaphor of health in the body corporate of the Cretan Church. Compare Pro_15:4, ‘A wholesome tongue—Heb. the healing of the tongue—is a tree of life’ with Tit_1:10, and 1Ti_6:3, ‘if any man teacheth a different doctrine and consenteth not to sound—wholesome—words.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This witness is true,.... The apostle confirms what the poet had said; he knew it to be fact from his own experience, and by the observation he had made when in the island: he does not say, that all that Epimenides had said, in the poem referred to, was true; but this character, which he had given of the Cretians, and which he cites, and uses to a good purpose; from whence it may be observed, that the writings of the Heathen poets may be read with profit, and be used to advantage, if carefully and prudently attended to; for what is truth, let it come from whom, or by what means it will, ought to be received.

Wherefore rebuke them sharply: not merely upon the testimony of the poet, but upon the confirmation of it by the apostle; and not because of these general and national characters, but because these things personally and particularly belonged to the persons before described; whom the apostle would have rebuked, both for their bad principles, teaching things that they ought not; and for their immoralities, their lying and deceit, their intemperance, luxury, and idleness, things very unbecoming the Christian name; and therefore since their offences were of an heinous nature, and they lived in them, and were hardened and obstinate, and were like to have a bad influence on others, they must be rebuked "sharply": rebukes ought to be given according to the nature of offences, and the circumstances of them, and the offenders; some are to be given privately, others publicly; some should be reproved with gentleness and meekness, and be used in a tender and compassionate way; others more roughly, though never in a wrathful and passionate manner, yet with some degree of severity, at least with great plainness and faithfulness; laying open the nature of the evils guilty of in all their aggravated circumstances, without sparing them in the least; doing, as surgeons do by wounds, though they take the knife, and use it gently, yet cut deep, to the quick, and go to the bottom of the wound, and lay it open: and so the phrase may be rendered here, "rebuke them cuttingly"; cut them to the quick, and spare them not; deal not with them as Eli with his sons, Sa1 2:23 but speak out, and expose their crimes, severely reprove them, that others may fear: and

that they may be sound in the faith; that they may be recovered from their errors, to the acknowledgment of the truth; that they may receive the sound doctrine of faith, the wholesome words of Christ, and speak the things which become them, and use sound speech, which cannot be condemned; and that they may be turned from their evil practices, and appear to be sound, as in the doctrine, so in the grace of faith; or that that by their works may appear to be genuine, true, and unfeigned; and that they may be strong and robust, hale and healthful, and not weak and sickly in the profession of their faith. Rebukes being to persons infected with bad principles and practices, like physic to sickly constitutions, a means of removing the causes of disorder; and in rebukes, admonitions, and censures, this always ought to be the end proposed, the good of the persons rebuked, admonished, and censured.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

Ver. 13. Rebuke them sharply] Gr. αποτομως, cuttingly, precisely, rigidly, severely, and to the quick. A metaphor from surgeons, who must not be melch-hearted, saith Celsus, {a} but pare away the dead flesh, Ne pars sincera trahatur. Howbeit, that is a good rule given by a godly divine, that although there must be some warmth in a reproof, yet it must not be scalding hot. Words of reviling and disgrace, they scald, as it were. But words that tend to stir up the conscience to a due consideration of the error or evil reproved, they be duly warm, and tend to make the medicine work more kindly. Evangelizatum non maledictum missus es, said Oecolampadins to Farellus: laudo zelum, mode non desideretur mansuetudo. Vinum et oleum in tempore suo infundendum. Evangelistam non tyrannicum legislatorem praestes. Thou art sent to preach, not to rail. Thy zeal I commend, so it be mingled with meekness. Wine must be poured into men’s wounds one while and oil another. Thou must show thyself a peaceable preacher, not a tyrannical lawgiver. (Oecolamp. Ep. ad Gul. Farel.) Rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering, saith Paul to Timothy, 2Ti 4:2. Timothy, they say, was somewhat sharp and tart in his reproofs; and is therefore exhorted to patience and meekness. Titus was gentle, and of a mild disposition; and is therefore thus spurred on to sharpness and severity. The Cretians also were (possibly) a worse people than the Ephesians, and were therefore to be more hardly handled. Let it ever be remembered that matters of moment must be wisely but yet seriously dealt with. To tell wicked men of their sins so softly as Eli did his sons, or reprove them so gently as Jehoshaphat did Ahab ("Let not the king say so"), doth usually as much harm as good; like a weak dose in physic, it stirreth the humours, but purgeth them not.

{a} Chirurgos misericordes esse non oportet.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This witness is true - That is, this testimony long before borne by one of their own number, was true when the apostle wrote to Titus. The fact that this was the general Character of the people, was a reason why he should be on his guard in introducing men into the ministry, and in the arrangement of affairs pertaining to the church. That it was true, see proofs in Wetstein.

Wherefore rebuke them - Notes, 2Ti 4:2.

Sharply - ἀποτόμως apotomōs - “cuttingly, severely” - from ἀποτέμνω apotemnō, “to cut off.” The word is used here in the sense of severity, meaning that the reproof should be such as would be understood, and would show them plainly the wickedness of such traits of character. He was not to be mealy-mouthed, but he was to call things by their right names, and not to spare their faults. When men know that they are doing wrong, we should tell them so in few words; if they do not know it, it is necessary to teach them, in order to convince them of their error.

That they may be sound in the faith - That they may not allow the prevailing vices to corrupt their views of religion.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This testimony, or character, says the apostle, is true, by public fame of them, and therefore they must be rebuked sharply,[10] their condition and dispositions requiring it; which, therefore, is not contrary to the admonition he gave to Timothy, to be gentle towards all. (2 Timothy ii. 24.) (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Dure, Greek: apotomos; a metaphor from surgeons cutting.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

This witness is true; this testimony of Epimenides is true, what I have found by experience, and those of them that in profession have embraced the Christian faith may have some tincture of their nation’s vices.

Wherefore rebuke them sharply; if thou meetest with any such, reprove or convince them αποτομως, cuttingly, that is, sharply, severely: the metaphor possibly is fetched from surgeons, who cut out dead flesh to the quick.

That they may be sound in the faith; that they may be sound in the doctrine of the gospel, or in their minds, not infected with any vice.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. This witness is too universal not to be true. St. Paul had not only read the fact, but he had seen it. He adds his own confirmation to the ancient testimony. It was not mere slander and witty sarcasm, but sober and solemn truth, with the consequent solemn duty now to be apostolically enjoined. Rebuke all these vices in them. Sound, or healthful, (see note, l Timothy Tit_1:10,) in the faith—For it is a very unhealthy Christian faith that accords with lying, brutality, or gluttony.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Testimony for witness, A.V; for which cause for wherefore, A.V; reprove for rebuke, A.V Sharply (apotomwv); elsewhere only in 2Co_13:10. (see also Rom_11:22) That they may be sound. (see Tit_2:2) The faithful pastor must use severity when it is necessary to the spiritual health of the flock, just as the skilful surgeon uses the knife to save the patient"s life.

Vers. 13, 14. The necessity of godly rebuke.

At this point the apostle drops the reference to bishops, and lays upon Titus himself the duty of applying the proper remedy.

I THE UTILITY OF REBUKE. "Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith." The nature of the people demanded sharp treatment. "Sharpness and severity are but the other side of love itself, when the wounds can only be healed by cutting." Ministers are sent to give rebuke. (Jer_44:4 Mic_3:8)

1. They may give it privately.

2. Or publicly. (1Ti_5:20)

3. Fearlessly. (Eze_2:3-7)

4. With all authority. (Tit_2:15)

5. With long-suffering. (2Ti_4:2)

6. If sharply, yet with Christian love. (2Th_3:15)

7. The good receive rebuke

(1) kindly; (Psa_141:5)

(2) with love to those who administer it; (Pro_9:8 Pro_24:25)

(3) they attend to rebuke. (Pro_15:5)

II THE DESIGN OF THE REBUKE. "That they may be sound in the faith." It was:

1. That they might be recovered from their errors, and receive sound doctrine, and use sound speech that cannot be condemned.

2. That they may be sound in the grace of faith, and manifest it by departing from their evil works. This soundness of faith is described negatively by their "not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

(1) Jewish fables. These are mentioned in 1Ti_1:4 1Ti_4:7 2Ti_4:4. They were, no doubt, rabbinical, and ultimately crystallized into the Talmud. Our Lord condemned them. (Mat_15:3) The traditionary principle has, in spite of this warning, spread widely in the Church. We see it in the Latin Church, in the Greek Church, in Islamism. It is, in fact, the ruling principle of all these communities, which have no real love for the Scriptures.

(2) The commandments of men.

(a) They stand in antithesis to the commandments of God. (Col_2:22)

(b) They evidently were of a ceremonial character, and involved ascetic peculiarities, touching the question of abstinence from meats, and from other things created by God for man"s enjoyment.

(c) Their origin was evil, for they sprang from men turning away from the truth. It was not merely Mosaical prohibitions with regard to food that they enforced, but ascetic additions and exaggerations in the spirit of the later Gnosticism. The course of these men was downward. They were departing fast from the gospel. T.C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. This witness is true. Paul's observations confirmed it. So do many ancient writers. Cretize (Cretanize) became a slang phrase for lying. Wherefore. Their bad conduct must be sharply rebuked until the gospel so transforms them that they will become sound in the faith.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

13. ἐν τῇ πίστει. א* omits ἐν, but the authority for its insertion is overwhelming.

13. ἡμαρτυρία αὕτη ἐστὶν ἀληθής. This witness is true. St Paul deliberately assents to the truth of the proverbial judgement upon the Cretan character. It was a serious thing to say, and especially significant in a letter which became part of the Canonical Scriptures received at a later date by the Cretan Church.

διʼ ἥν αἰτίαν ἔλεγχε αὐτοὺς ἀποτόμως. For which cause, sc. on account of these evil traits of character, rebuke them sharply, sc. not, to be sure, the Cretans generally, but the heretical teachers described in Tit 1:9 as οἱ ἀντιλέγοντες.

ἀποτόμως only occurs again in the Greek Bible 2Co 13:10; Wis 5:22 (cp. Rom 11:22).

ἵνα ὑγιαίνωσιν ἐν τῇ πίστει, in order that they may be sound in the faith. ἡ πίστις is here, plainly, used objectively, as equivalent to ‘the Christian faith’ (see on 1Ti 1:19); for the metaphor of ‘soundness,’ ‘wholesomeness,’ as applied to doctrine, see on 1Ti 1:10.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13.] This testimony is true. Wherefore (ἐπειδὴ ἦθος αὐτοῖς ἐστιν ἰταμὸν καὶ δολερὸν καὶ ἀκόλαστον, Chrys.) reprove them sharply (ὅταν ψεύδωνται προχείρως καὶ δολεροὶ ὦσι καὶ γαστρίμαργοι καὶ ἀργοί, σφοδροῦ καὶ πληκτικοῦ τοῦ λόγου δεῖ· προσηνείᾳ γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἀχθείη ὁ τοιοῦτος, Chrys. ἀπότομος, ‘cut off,’ ‘abrupt:’ hence, met., ‘rugged,’ ‘harsh;’ so Eur. Alcest. 985, οὐδέ τις ἀποτόμου λήματός ἐστιν αἰδώς: Soph. Œd. Tyr. 876, ἀπότομον ὤρουσεν εἰς ἄναγκαν), that (in order that: De W. takes ἵνα κ.τ.λ., for the substance of the rebuke, as in παραγγέλλειν ἵνα and the like (?): but there appears to be no sufficient reason for this) they may be healthy in the faith (not, ‘in faith,’ as Conyb.: even were no article expressed after ἐν, it might be ‘in the faith:’ when that article is expressed, the definite reference can never be overlooked. The Κρῆτες indicated here, who are to be thus rebuked in order to their soundness in the faith, are manifestly not the false teachers, but the ordinary believers: cf. ver. 14),

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. ἡ μαρτυρία] not in the earlier Epistles, which use μαρτύριον (four times): perhaps slightly different, “witnessing,” rather than “witness.” For similar severity, cf. Rom 16:18, Php 3:19.

ἔλεγχε] cf. 9, as an example to the ἐπίσκοπος. ἀποτόμως, 2Co 13:10, only in N.T.

διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν] Luk 8:47, Act 22:24, Heb 2:11, 2Ti 1:6, 2Ti 1:12, only in N.T., not in the earlier Epistles: perhaps a Latinism = quamobrem. So κατὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν, διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας in the papyri, M.M s.v.

ἐν τῇ πίστει] perhaps “in the Creed,” and the context makes this almost certain; but, possibly, “in their faith, their loyalty to Christ”: cf. 2:2.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sharply [αποτομως] . Only here and 2Co 13:10 (note). Paul has ajpotomia severity, Rom 11:22 (note). LXX, ajpotomwv severely, only Wisd. 5 22; ajpotomov severe (not in N. T.), Wisd. 5 20; 11 10; 12 9. From ajpotemnein to cut of. It signifies abrupt, harsh, summary dealing.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.