Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Titus 1:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The first eligibility line joins blameless reputation with contested spouse and children phrases inside an ancient household setting.
Read It With
- Titus 1:5–9
Read Titus 1:5–9 as a complete movement. Keep the city-by-city task, the connected character profile, God's-steward language, and teaching purpose together.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The conditional profile begins with public and household reputation, where several later eligibility disputes arise.
Read Titus 1:5–9 together
Why these verses belong together: The city-by-city commission, household and character profile, stewardship, and teaching capacity form one appointment charge.
Verse 5. 5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
Verse 6. 6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
Verse 7. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
Verse 8. 8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
Verse 9. 9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
Follow the Context
- Titus is to complete unfinished ordering by appointing elders in every city under the prior charge.
- An eligible elder or overseer must have an unaccused household reputation and reject anger, violence, addiction, greed, and self-will while practicing public and private virtues.
- The leader must hold to the trustworthy message so as to encourage through healthy teaching and answer those who resist it.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“husband of one wife”
In plain language: a one-woman man or one-spouse husband
A household-integrity criterion whose exact exclusion is disputed.
Why it matters: Spousal fidelity, remarriage, polygamy, and marital-status readings lead to different modern policies.
How certain? probable“faithful children”
In plain language: faithful or believing children
The children's conduct or belief forms part of household reputation.
Why it matters: The next clause stresses conduct, but the believing-children reading remains substantial.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not authorize marital status, children, or household conformity to function as a shortcut that ignores abuse, character, context, or disputed grammar.
What Remains True
Leadership integrity reaches intimate relationships and household reputation, while disputed phrases require interpretive humility.
How It Can Shape Life
- Assess relational fidelity and abuse safety across the whole profile; do not turn one marital or children phrase into a culture-free shortcut.
Teach It Back
Explain Titus 1:6's exact contribution to Titus 1:5–9. Include the argument transition, one source-grounded issue or limitation, the enduring truth, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Titus 1:5–9 — Titus Must Appoint Blameless, Hospitable, Teachable LeadersSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The spouse phrase and whether pista means faithful or believing children remain materially disputed.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording and immediate English context for Titus 1:5–9.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Titus 1:5–9; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Critically edited Greek wording, connectives, grammar, and lexical forms.
Exact location: Official SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Titus.txt, Titus 1:5–9.
Open the Titus Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Titus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants at the cited verses.
Exact location: NET Bible, Titus 1, translator, study, and textual notes attached to verses 5–9.
Open NET Titus 1 ↗public domain critical commentary
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles
Walter Lock
T&T Clark, International Critical Commentary, 1924
Supports: Public-domain verse-level philology and older interpretive options checked against primary evidence and newer work.
Exact location: Walter Lock, Pastoral Epistles, ICC, Titus commentary, print pp. 128–133.
Open source ↗peer reviewed social historical study
Roman Crete and the Letter to Titus
George M. Wieland
New Testament Studies 55.3, 2009
Supports: A bounded social-historical proposal for Roman Crete, household order, and public witness.
Exact location: George M. Wieland, ‘Roman Crete and the Letter to Titus,’ NTS 55.3 (2009), pp. 338–354, with pp. 348–354 for religious, missional, and public-context proposals.
Open source ↗modern open access exegetical study
Unbelieving Child and Qualified Elder: A Case for ‘Faithful’ Children in Titus 1:6
Timothy E. Miller
Themelios 49.2, 2024
Supports: One recent exegetical case for the faithful-children reading, represented as an alternative rather than a verdict.
Exact location: Timothy E. Miller, ‘Unbelieving Child and Qualified Elder,’ Themelios 49.2 (2024), pp. 334–345, especially pp. 337–344 on pista, the following conduct clause, and the believing-versus-faithful alternatives.
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract
The One-Spouse Criterion in the Pastorals (1 Tim 3.2, 12; 5.9; Titus 1.6)
A. Andrew Das
New Testament Studies, 2026
Supports: Abstract-level evidence for both the growing spousal-fidelity interpretation and a recent one-spouse alternative.
Exact location: A. Andrew Das, ‘The One-Spouse Criterion in the Pastorals,’ New Testament Studies (online 24 March 2026), official Cambridge abstract only, for the spousal-fidelity consensus claim and one-spouse alternative.
Open source ↗peer reviewed research overview
The Letter to Titus in Recent Scholarship: A Critical Overview
Aldred A. Genade
Currents in Biblical Research 9.1, 2010
Supports: Research-history check that keeps Titus distinct and maps major structural, historical, and theological alternatives.
Exact location: Aldred A. Genade, ‘The Letter to Titus in Recent Scholarship,’ Currents in Biblical Research 9.1 (2010), pp. 48–62, with the unit-specific authorship, structure, occasion, or theology discussion checked.
Open source ↗