whose mouths must be stopped: men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.
Parallel Translations
-
whose mouths must be stopped: men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.
-
whose mouthes must be stopped which pervert whole houses teachinge thinges which they ought not because of filthy lucre.
-
Whose mouthes must bee stopped, which subuert whole houses, teaching things, which they ought not, for filthie lucres sake.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Titus 1:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Timothy 3:6 For some of these are people who creep into houses and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
- 1 Timothy 6:5 constant friction of people of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.
- Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God.
- Titus 3:10 Avoid a factious man after a first and second warning,
- Psalms 63:11 But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.
- Titus 1:9 holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.
- Psalms 107:42 The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
- Micah 3:5 Yahweh says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; for those who feed their teeth, they proclaim, “Peace!” and whoever doesn’t provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him:
- Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;
- Isaiah 56:10-11 His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark— dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
- Jeremiah 8:10 Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to those who will possess them. For everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness; from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.
- Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the souls who should not die, and to save the souls alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.’
- Ezekiel 16:63 that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done,” says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
- Micah 3:11 Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.”
- Luke 20:40 They didn’t dare to ask him any more questions.
- 2 Corinthians 11:10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no one will stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
- 2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
- Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
- John 10:12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 11 Whose mouth must be stopped A good pastor…
11 Whose mouth must be stopped A good pastor ought therefore to be on the watch, so as not to give silent permission to wicked and dangerous doctrines to make gradual progress, or to allow wicked men an opportunity of spreading them. But it may be asked, “How is it possible for a bishop to constrain obstinate and self-willed men to be silent? For such persons, even though they are vanquished in argument, still do not hold their peace; and it frequently happens that, the more manifestly they are refuted and vanquished, they become the more insolent; for not only is their malice strengthened and inflamed, but they give themselves up to indolence.” I reply, when they have been smitten down by the sword of God’s word, and overwhelmed by the force of the truth, the Church may command them to be silent; and if they persevere, they may at least be banished from the society of believers, so that they shall have no opportunity of doing harm. Yet by “shutting the mouth” Paul simply means — “to refute their vain talking,” even though they should not cease to make a noise; for he who is convicted by the word of God, however he may chatter, has nothing to say.
Who overturn whole houses. If the faith of one individual were in danger of being overturned, (for we are speaking of the perdition of a single soul redeemed by the blood of Christ) the pastor should immediately gird himself for the combat; how much less tolerable is it to see whole houses overturned?
Read full note →
Teaching things which they ought not. The manner in which they were overturned is described in these words. Hence we may infer how dangerous it is to make even the smallest departure from sound doctrine; for he does not say that the doctrines, by which they overturned the faith of many, were openly wicked; but we may understand by this designation every kind of corruptions, when there is a turning aside from the desire of edification. Thus it is in reality, that, amidst so great weakness of the flesh, we are exceedingly prone to fall; and hence it arises, that Satan easily and speedily destroys, by his ministers, what godly teachers had reared with great and long-continued toil.
He next points out the source of the evil, a desire of dishonest gain; by which he reminds us how destructive a plague avarice is in teachers; for, as soon as they give themselves up to the pursuit of gain, they must labor to obtain the favor and countenance of men. This is quickly followed by the corruption of pure doctrine.
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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole…
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
Ver. 11. Whose mouths must be stopped] Gr. επιστομιζειν, muzzled, as bandogs are. Frogs, they say, will leave croaking if but a light be hanged over the lake wherein they are. Let but the truth come clearly in place, and heretics will be soon silenced. But if they will not, another course must be taken with them.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Whose mouths must be stopped; the word is active;…
Whose mouths must be stopped; the word is active; such ministers ought to be placed in cities as shall be able and fit to stop such persons’ mouths, by sound doctrine and arguments fit to convince them: or, thou oughtest to stop their mouths by silencing them; though I do not see how this was practicable in a pagan country, otherwise than by persuading Christians not to hear them.
Who subvert whole houses; who, as to the foundation of faith and its building, overturn whole families of Christians.
Read full note →
Teaching things which they ought not; infusing false doctrine into them.
For filthy lucre’s sake; and all for filthy gain: and all gain is so, that is got by deceiving and ruining of people’s souls, as to their faith and salvation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Whose mouths must be stopped,.... Or they be silenced,…
Whose mouths must be stopped,.... Or they be silenced, by reasons and arguments fetched out of the word of God; as were the Sadducees and Pharisees by Christ, so that they durst ask him no more questions; and as the Jews at Damascus were by Saul, who confounded them, proving in the clearest and strongest manner, that Jesus was the very Christ:
who subvert whole houses; into which they creep; that is, whole families, whose principles they corrupt, whose faith they overthrow, and carry them away with their own errors; and therefore, since this was the case not of a single person, or of a few, but of whole families, it was high time to attempt to convince them, and stop their mouths, that they might proceed no further:
Read full note →
teaching things which they ought not; which were not agreeable to the perfections of God, to the Scriptures of truth, to sound doctrine, and which were hurtful and pernicious to the souls of men: and that only
for filthy lucre's sake; having no regard to the glory of God, the honour and interest of Christ, or the good of immortal souls; only seeking to gain popular applause and honour from men, and to gather and increase worldly substance. Covetousness was a sin which the Cretians were remarkably guilty of (l).
(l) Cornel. Nepos, l. 23. c. 9.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Stopped - The word properly means, to put a…
Stopped - The word properly means, to put a bit into the mouth of an unruly horse.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. Whose mouths must be stopped] Unmask them…
Verse 11. Whose mouths must be stopped] Unmask them at once; exhibit them to the people; make manifest their ignorance and hypocrisy; and let them be confounded before the people whom they are endeavouring to seduce.
Subvert whole houses] Turn whole Christian families from the faith, attributing to the broad way what belongs only to the strait gate; ministering to disorderly passions, and promising salvation to their proselytes, though not saved from their sins.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Whose mouths must be stopped - The word here…
Whose mouths must be stopped - The word here rendered stopped - ἐπιστομιζειν epistomizein - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, properly, to check, or curb, as with a bridle; to restrain, or bridle in; and then, to put to silence. It is, of course, implied here that this was to be done in a proper way, and in accordance with the spirit of the gospel. The apostle gives Timothy no civil power to do it, nor does he direct him to call in the aid of the civil arm. All the agency which he specifies as proper for this, is that of argument and exhortation. These are the proper means of silencing the advocates of error; and the history of the church shows that the ministers of religion can be safely entrusted with no other; compare Psa 32:8-9.
Who subvert whole houses - Whole families; compare Mat 23:14; 2Ti 3:6. That is, they turn them aside from the faith.
Read full note →
Teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake - For gain. That is, they inculcate such doctrines as will make themselves popular, and as will give them access to the confidence of the people. They make it their first object to acquire influence as ministers of religion, and then abuse that in order to obtain money from the people. This they would doubtless do under many pretences; such as that it was needful for the support of the gospel, or for the relief of the poor, or perhaps for the assistance of distant Christians in persecution. Religion is the most powerful principle that ever governs the mind; and if a man has the control of that, it is no difficult thing to induce men to give up their worldly possessions. In all ages, there have been impostors who have taken advantage of the powerful principle of religion to obtain money from their deluded followers. No people can be too vigilant in regard to pretended religious teachers; and while it is undoubtedly their duty to contribute liberally for the support of the gospel, and the promotion of every good cause, it is no less their duty to examine with care every proposed object of benevolence, and to watch with an eagle eye those who have the disbursement of the charities of the church. It is very rare that ministers ought to have much to do with disposing of the funds given for benevolent purposes; and when they do, they should in all cases be associated with their lay brethren; see Paley’s Horae Paulinae, chap. iv., No. 1, 3, note; compare 1Co 16:3. On the phrase “filthy lucre,” see the notes at 1Ti 3:3.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Whole houses.[8]]
Whole houses.[8]]
===============================
Read full note →
[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Universas domos, Greek: olous oikous.
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain mouths . . . stopped--literally, "muzzled," "bridled" as an…
mouths . . . stopped--literally, "muzzled," "bridled" as an unruly beast (compare Psa 32:9).
who--Greek, "(seeing that they are) such men as"; or "inasmuch as they" [ELLICOTT].
Read full note →
subvert . . . houses--"overthrowing" their "faith" (Ti2 2:18). "They are the devil's levers by which he subverts the houses of God" [THEOPHYLACT].
for filthy lucre-- (Ti1 3:3, Ti1 3:8; Ti1 6:5).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. Mouths must be stopped—Not by physical force, nor…
11. Mouths must be stopped—Not by physical force, nor usually by pure ecclesiastical authority. Yet, while church authority is less peremptory as to what private members believe, it is rightly exerted over what the minister whom it authorizes shall preach. In the present verse the meaning is, that the gainsayers shall be silenced by the ability of the elder to convince. Tit_1:9. Who not only seduce individuals, but subvert, that is, overthrow, (a Greek word physically expressive of overthrowing a building,) whole houses, or families. St. Paul, doubtless, speaks from memory here, of houses like that of the Philippian jailer, all baptized, (Act_16:33;) or like that of Stephanas, baptized by himself, (1Co_1:16;) or like that of Onesiphorus, administering to and sustaining him, (2Ti_1:16;) but houses unlike those in being subverted and drawn from the Church into the Jewish or Gnostic fold.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. whose mouths must be stopped] The verb is…
11. whose mouths must be stopped] The verb is so used in classical Greek often; the ‘stopping’ must have reference to the ‘convict’ of Tit_1:9; Tit_1:13. Compare the use of ‘to muzzle’ in the Gospels, e.g. Mar_4:39, ‘Peace, be still,’ and 1Pe_2:15, where the ‘ignorance of foolish men’ is ‘to be muzzled’ by ‘well-doing.’
who subvert whole houses] As R.V. men who, the compound relative implying the class to which they belong, and so the conduct for which they should be silenced; hence almost, ‘seeing that they.’ Cf. 1Ti_1:4, ‘the which.’ Render subvert whole households. Why should the Revisers give up the Latin word ‘subvert,’ which the A.V. has rendered familiar, and which gives the metaphorical overthrow more clearly?
Read full note →
teaching things which they ought not] The negative used implies the general class of wrong teachings rather than any definite and specific facts or views. The effect is a less positive statement than if the other negative had been used; and the rendering ‘things which they ought not to teach and which they know they ought not’ is impossible. It should be ‘things of a class which I think improper to be taught.’
for filthy lucre’s sake] Rather, for the sake of unfair gains, see Tit_1:7. Bp Ellicott quotes a striking passage from Polybius, Hist. vi. 46. 3, with respect to the Cretan character; ‘and generally their character as to unfair gains and covetousness is of this kind—they are the only nation in the world among whom no sort of gain is thought unfair.’
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11)Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses.—The…
(11)Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses.—The translation should run here, seeing they subvert, &c. There was, indeed, grave cause why these men should be put to silence; the mischief they were doing in Crete to the Christian cause was incalculable. It was no longer individuals that their poisonous teaching affected, but they were undermining the faith of whole families. For an example how Titus and his presbyters were to stop the mouths of these teachers of what was false, compare Mat_22:34-46, where the Lord, by His wise, powerful, yet gentle words, first put the Sadducees to silence, and then so answered the Pharisees that “neither durst any man from that day forth ask Him any more questions.”
Teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.—Here St. Paul goes to the root of the evil, when he shows what was the end and aim of these “teachers” life. It was a mean and sordid ambition, after all—merely base gain. When this is the main object of a religious teacher’s life, his teaching naturally accommodates itself to men’s tastes. He forgets the Divine Giver of his commission, and in his thirst for the popularity which brings with it gold, his true work, as the faithful watchman of the house of Israel, is forgotten and ignored.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Men who overthrow for who subvert, A.V Whose mouths…
Men who overthrow for who subvert, A.V Whose mouths must be stopped (ouv dei epistomizein); here only in the New Testament, not found in the LXX, but common in classical Greek. "To curb". (comp. Psa_32:9 Jam_3:2, Jam_3:3) The meaning is nearly the same as that of calinagwgew in Jam_1:26; some, however, assign to it the sense of "to muzzle" (Olshausen, etc.) or "stop the mouth," which Bishop Ellicott thinks is "perhaps the most common" and "the most suitable." So also Huther. It often means simply "to silence" (see Stephan, "Thesaur."), and is applied to wind instruments. Overthrow (anatrepousi); as 2Ti_2:18, which shows the kind of overthrow here meant, that viz. of the faith of whole families, well expressed in the A.V by "subvert." The phrase, oikiav anatrepein , of the literal overthrow of houses, occurs in Plato (Alford). For filthy lucre"s sake; contrary to the apostolic precept to bishops and deacons. (1Ti_3:3, 1Ti_3:8, and above, ver. 7) Polybius has a striking passage on the aiscrokerdeia Of the Cretans, quoted by Bishop Ellicott ("Hist.," 6:146.3).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 11. Whose mouths must be stopped. Muzzled. The way…
11. Whose mouths must be stopped. Muzzled. The way to stop them is for the churches to refuse to hear them. All false teachers, or bad men, should now be stopped from preaching in the same way. Subvert whole houses. Subvert their faith. For filthy lucre's sake. For base gain.
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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:11 turning whole families away: This also happened in…
1:11 turning whole families away: This also happened in Ephesus (cp. 1 Tim 4:3; 2 Tim 2:18; 3:6). • only for money: Elders must not have this characteristic (Titus 1:7; see also 1 Tim 6:5-10; 2 Cor 2:17; 1 Pet 5:2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.