Titus 1:12 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Titus 1:10 For there are many and disorderly vain speakers and deceivers of people's minds, specially those of [the] circumcision,

Titus 1:11 who must have their mouths stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which ought not [to be taught] for the sake of base gain.

Titus 1:12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, has said, Cretans are always liars, evil wild beasts, lazy gluttons.

Titus 1:13 This testimony is true; for which cause rebuke them severely, that they may be sound in the faith,

Titus 1:14 not turning [their] minds to Jewish fables and commandments of men turning away from the truth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "themselves", "prophet", "said", "cretans", "always", "liars", "evil", and "wild". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "themselves" and "prophet", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "who must have their mouths stopped who..." into verse 13's "This testimony is true for which cause...", so "themselves" and "prophet" belong inside that flow. In Titus context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "themselves" and "prophet" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.