TIT 1:12 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT One of them, of their own prophets, has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies.”

UST One man of Crete, someone his people thought was a prophet, said, “Cretans frequently lie to each other! They are like dangerous wild animals! They are lazy and always eat too much food.”

BSB [As] one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans [are] always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”[fn]

1:12 This quote, also known as the Epimenides paradox, has been attributed to the Cretan philosopher Epimenides of Knossos.

BLB One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

AICNT One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

OEB It was a Cretan – one of their own prophets – who said: “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.” This statement is true.

WEBBE One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

LSV A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans! Always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies!”

FBV As someone of their own people,[fn] a prophet, has stated, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts who are lazy, greedy people.”

1:12 Not necessarily of the circumcision faction or any other dissident group, but someone from Crete.

TCNT One of their very own prophets said,
⇔ “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.”

T4T A man from Crete island whom they consider a prophet said, “My fellow Cretan people are always lying to one another! They are like dangerous wild animals [MET]! They are lazy and always eat too much food [SYN]!”

LEB A certain one of them, one of their own prophets, has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

BBE One of their prophets has said, The men of Crete are ever false, evil beasts, lovers of food, hating work.

Moff It has been said by one of themselves, by a prophet of their own, that--
⇔ "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

Wymth One of their own number—a Prophet who is a countryman of theirs—has said, "Cretans are always liars, dangerous animals, idle gluttons."

ASV One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said,
⇔ Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.

DRA One of them a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies.

YLT A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said — 'Cretans! always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies!'

Drby One of themselves, a prophet of their own, has said, Cretans are always liars, evil wild beasts, lazy gluttons.

RV One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are alway liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.
(One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts/animals, idle gluttons. )

SLT A certain of them said, their own prophet, The Cretians always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies.

Wbstr One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.

KJB-1769 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
(One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts/animals, slow bellies. )

KJB-1611 One of themselues, euen a Prophet of their owne, said: The Cretians are alway lyers, euill beasts, slow bellies.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps One of them selues euen a prophete of their owne, sayde: The Crettans are alwayes lyers, euyll beastes, slowe bellyes.
(One of themselves even a prophet of their own, said: The Crettans are always liars, evil beasts/animals, slow bellies.)

Gnva One of themselues, euen one of their owne prophets said, The Cretians are alwaies liars, euill beastes, slowe bellies.
(One of themselves, even one of their own prophets said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts/animals, slow bellies. )

Cvdl One of them selues euen their awne prophet, sayde: The Cretayns are alwayes lyars, euell beestes, and slowe belies.
(One of themselves even their own prophet, said: The Cretayns are always lyars, evil beasts/animals, and slow belies.)

TNT One beynge of the selves which was a poyet of their awne sayde: The Cretayns are all wayes lyars evyll beastes and slowe belies.
(One being of the selves which was a poyet of their own said: The Cretayns are always lyars evil beasts/animals and slow belies. )

Wycl And oon of hem, her propre profete, seide, Men of Crete ben euere more lyeris, yuele beestis, of slowe wombe.
(And one of hem, her propre prophet, said, Men of Crete been ever more liaris, evil beasts/animals, of slow womb.)

Luth Es hat einer aus ihnen gesagt, ihr eigener Prophet: Die Kreter sind immer Lügner, böse Tiere und faule Bäuche.
(It has one/a out_of to_them said, you(pl)/their/her ownr Prophet: The Kreter are always liar(s), evil animals and lazye Bäuche.)

ClVg Dixit quidam ex illis, proprius ipsorum propheta: Cretenses semper mendaces, malæ bestiæ, ventres pigri.[fn]
(He/She_said some from to_them, proprius their_own a_prophet: Cretenses always mendaces, evil beasts/animals, bellies pigri. )

1.12 Dixit quidam ex illis. AUG., lib. II contra adversarium leg. et prophet. Iste fuit Epimenides Cretensis, in cujus libris hoc invenitur, etc., usque ad ad ministerium domus Dei assumendum est.

1.12 He/She_said some from to_them. AUG., lib. II on_the_contrary adversarium leg. and prophet. Iste it_was Epimenides Cretensis, in/into/on whose books this is_found, etc., until to ministry home of_God assumendum it_is.

UGNT εἶπέν τις ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἴδιος αὐτῶν προφήτης, Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί.
(eipen tis ex autōn, idios autōn profaʸtaʸs, Kraʸtes aei pseustai, kaka thaʸria, gasteres argai.)

SBL-GNT εἶπέν τις ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἴδιος αὐτῶν προφήτης, Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί·
(eipen tis ex autōn, idios autōn profaʸtaʸs, Kraʸtes aei pseustai, kaka thaʸria, gasteres argai;)

RP-GNT Εἶπέν τις ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἴδιος αὐτῶν προφήτης, Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί.
(Eipen tis ex autōn, idios autōn profaʸtaʸs, Kraʸtes aei pseustai, kaka thaʸria, gasteres argai.)

TC-GNT Εἶπέ τις ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἴδιος αὐτῶν προφήτης,
⇔ Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί.
(Eipe tis ex autōn, idios autōn profaʸtaʸs,
⇔ Kraʸtes aei pseustai, kaka thaʸria, gasteres argai. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

TSN Tyndale Study Notes:

1:12 one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said: This quotation is from Epimenides of Knossos, a philosopher who lived on Crete around the 500s BC.
• all liars: This charge was directed specifically at the Cretan claim to have Zeus’s tomb on the island. According to Cretan mythology, the god Zeus was once a mere human who lived and died on Crete (his tomb was said to be there) but who had achieved godhood through his patronage (i.e., gifts and benefits) to humans. Some Greek moralists opposed this legend and characterized it as a lie. A quote from Alexandria in the 200s BC reads: “Cretans are always liars. For a tomb, O Lord, Cretans build for you; but you do not die, for you are forever.” One of Crete’s own prophets (Epimenides) had the same assessment, and Paul cites his voice of conscience approvingly (1:13; see Acts 17:28), for the God who does not lie (Titus 1:2) stands in opposition to the lies of such myths.
• liars . . . animals . . . gluttons: It was believed that Cretan immorality resulted from their belief about Zeus; religious lies had given rise to moral corruption. Paul later counters these vices by presenting the contrasting virtues (2:12). He calls the Cretans to reach ethical ideals that are extolled in human society generally but were absent on Crete, as bemoaned by their own prophet. They would reach these ideals only through the gospel of Jesus Christ (2:11-14).
• lazy gluttons: Cretans were known to do anything for a little cash. They were famous as mercenaries and as insatiate consumers. They reputedly saw no shame in greed (see Phil 3:19).
• Paul applies the quotation more directly to the current false teachers than to Cretan culture generally; the false teachers carried on this Cretan tradition of immorality built on falsehood.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:10–16: Paul told Titus to rebuke rebellious people

In this section Paul warned Titus about those in Crete who were opposing correct teaching. They were deceiving believers and ruining their faith. Paul called them liars. They claimed to know God but in reality they did not.

Here are some other ways to translate this heading:

Correct Whoever Teaches What Is Wrong (GW)

You^(sing) must rebuke those who are rebellious

1:12a

As one of their own prophets has said,

One of their own pagan prophets has said,
Long ago, one of the spokesmen of the gods whom the people of Crete worship said,

As one of their own prophets has said: The words has said here indicate that this prophet spoke the words of 1:12b–d some time before Paul wrote this letter to Titus. He probably spoke and wrote this several hundred years beforehand.1:12 The writer Callimachus, who lived three centuries before Christ, wrote in his Hymn to Zeus (line 8) that “Cretans are always liars.” He was quoting the Cretan poet Epimenides who lived three centuries earlier, who wrote, “The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies” in his poem Cretica. Use an appropriate way to indicate that. For example:

One of Crete’s own prophets said this long ago

one of their own prophets: This phrase indicates that this man was from, or lived in, the island of Crete.

prophets: Here the word prophets refers to people who spoke on behalf of one of the gods of Crete. The usual meaning of prophets in the New Testament refers to people who speak on behalf of God. Your translation should not indicate or imply that this person spoke on behalf of God. You may need to make it explicit that Paul was referring to spokesmen of the idols whom the people of Crete worshiped. For example:

spokesmen of their gods

pagan prophets

1:12b

“Cretans are always liars,

““The/Our/We people of Crete always lie/deceive,
“The people who live in Crete are certainly liars.

Cretans are always liars: This clause is an exaggeration. It means that the people who lived in Crete had the habit of telling lies.

The prophet who was speaking was himself a Cretan. But he was not saying that he was telling a lie. So in some languages it may be necessary to remove the exaggeration in order to convey the correct meaning. For example:

Cretans are habitual liars

We Cretans certainly tell many lies

Cretans: This word means “the people of Crete.”

1:12c

evil beasts,

and are like wicked wild animals,
They are wicked and wild.

evil beasts: The phrase “Cretans are” is implied from 1:12b. In some languages it is more natural to make this a clause. For example:

and they are evil brutes

This phrase compares Cretans to wild animals who do bad things. This is a figure of speech, a metaphor. It means that they acted without self-control or good morals. There are several ways to translate this figure of speech:

Keeping the metaphor. For example:
they are wicked wild animals
Using a simile. For example:
they are like wicked wild animals
Explaining the meaning of the figure of speech. For example:
they are wicked and unrestrained, like wild animals
Translate only the meaning of the metaphor. For example:
they are wicked and wild people If you do this, you may then want to give a literal translation of the Greek in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
Literally, “wicked wild animals.”

Translate this figure of speech in the way that is most natural in your language and allows your readers to understand the correct meaning.

1:12d

lazy gluttons.”

lazy and greedy.”
They love to lie around and eat.”

lazy gluttons: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as lazy gluttons is more literally “lazy/idle stomachs.” It refers to people who are focused on eating and drinking rather than working. Their lives are centered around eating and drinking.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

lazy people who are always eating

too lazy to work but not too lazy to eat

They are lazy but love to eat.

They eat/consume a lot but do not work.

This phrase concludes the quotation from the Cretan prophet.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

τις ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἴδιος αὐτῶν προφήτης

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἶπεν Τὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἴδιος αὐτῶν προφήτης Κρῆτες ἀεί ψεῦσται κακά θηρία γαστέρες ἀργαί)

Alternate translation: [A Cretan, one that they themselves consider to be a prophet]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται

Cretans (Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἶπεν Τὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἴδιος αὐτῶν προφήτης Κρῆτες ἀεί ψεῦσται κακά θηρία γαστέρες ἀργαί)

The word always here is an overstatement for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: [Cretans have a reputation to be liars] or [Cretans tend to be liars]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

κακὰ θηρία

This metaphor is speaking of Cretans as if they were evil beasts. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [as dangerous as wild animals]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

γαστέρες ἀργαί

bellies idle

Here the part of the body that stores food is used to represent the person who eats all the time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [lazy gluttons] or [lazy people who just want to eat]

Parallel TIT 1:12

Section 1:10–16: Paul told Titus to rebuke rebellious people

1:12a

1:12b

1:12c

1:12d