For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers - There are many persons who are indisposed to submit to authority (see the word unruly in Titus 1:6); many who are vain talkers - who are more given to talk than to the duties of practical religion (see the character of "Talkative," in the Pilgrim's Progress); and many who live to deceive others under the mask of religion. They make great pretensions to piety; they are fluent in argument, and they urge their views in a plausible manner.

Specially they of the circumcision - Jews, spoken of here as "of the circumcision" particularly, because they urged the necessity of circumcision in order that men might be saved; Notes, Acts 15:1. This proves that there were not a few Jews in the island of Crete.

There are many unruly - Persons who will not receive the sound doctrine, nor come under wholesome discipline.

Vain talkers - Empty boasters of knowledge, rights, and particular privileges; all noise, empty parade, and no work.

Deceivers - Of the souls of men by their specious pretensions.

They of the circumcision - The Judaizing teachers, who maintained the necessity of circumcision, and of observing the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law, in order to the perfecting of the Gospel.

For there are many unruly,.... Persons who are not subject to the law of God, or Gospel of Christ; whose spirits are not subject to the prophets; and who will not submit themselves to them that have the rule over them, nor attend to the admonitions of the church, nor be brought into any regularity and order; and there were many of this sort, who were not sent forth by Christ, or his churches, but went forth of themselves, and were corrupters of the word; and therefore Christ's ministers ought to hold fast the faithful word, and convince such opposers by sound doctrine;

and vain talkers; who deliver out in their discourses empty, trifling, superficial, and frivolous things; which have no solidity and substance in them, nor do they tend to edification; only great swelling words of vanity, vain jangling and babbling about things to no profit.

And deceivers; both of themselves and others; who lie in wait to deceive, and are deceitful workers; and by their good words, and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple; and so are dangerous persons, and of pernicious consequence:

especially they of the circumcision; or "of the Jews", as the Ethiopic version renders it; that is, not the unbelieving Jews, but such as professed Christianity, judaizing Christians, who joined Moses and Christ and blended the law and Gospel together; who taught that circumcision, and the observance of other ceremonies of the law, were necessary to justification and salvation; and hereby did a great deal of mischief among the churches.

Vain talkers (ματαιολόγοι)

N.T.o. olxx, oClass. See on vain jangling, 1 Timothy 1:6.

Deceivers (φρεναπάται)

N.T.o. olxx, oClass. See on φρεναπατᾶν to deceive, Galatians 6:3.

They of the circumcision (οἱ ἐκ τῆς περιτομῆς)

The phrase only here in Pastorals. Ὁι ἐκ περιτομῆς Acts 10:45; Acts 11:2; Romans 4:12; Galatians 2:12; Colossians 4:11. There can be no doubt of the presence of Jews in Crete. Tacitus (Hist. v. 2) even makes the absurd statement that the Jews were Cretan exiles; and that from their residence in the vicinity of the Cretan Mount Ida they were called Idaei, whence Judaei. There appears to have been some confusion between the Palestinians and the Philistines - the Cherethim or Cherethites, who, in Ezekiel 25:16; Zephaniah 2:5 are called in lxx Κρῆτες Jews were in the island in considerable numbers between the death of Alexander and the final destruction of Jerusalem. In 1 Macc. 15:23 the Cretan city of Gortyna is mentioned among the places to which letters were written by Lucius, the Roman consul, on behalf of the Jews when Simon Maccabaeus renewed the treaty which his brother Judas had made with Rome. Josephus (Ant. 17:12, 1; Bell. Jude 2:7, 1) says that Herod's pseudo-son Alexander imposed on the Cretan Jews on his way to Italy. Philo (Leg. ad Cai. 36) makes the Jewish envoys say to Caligula that all the principal islands of the Mediterranean, including Crete, were full of Jews.

{10} For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the {l} circumcision:

(10) An applying of the general proposition to a particular: the Cretians above all others need sharp reprehensions: both because their minds are naturally given to lies and slothfulness, and because of certain covetous Jews, who under a pretence of godliness, partly combined certain vain traditions, and partly old ceremonies with the Gospel.

(l) Of the Jews, or rather of those Jews who went about to join Christ and the Law.

Titus 1:10 There are many disorderly and vain talkers. The last sentence suggests to Paul to speak of the Cretan errorists. The allusions to the false teachers show that the Epistle belongs to the closing years of the apostle's life.

And deceivers, specially of the circumcision. Jews, perhaps Judaizing Christians who had so troubled the Gentile churches. See the Galatian letter.

1:10 They of the circumcision - The Jewish converts.

10. unruly-"insubordinate."

and-omitted in the oldest manuscripts. "There are many unruly persons, vain talkers, and deceivers"; "unruly" being predicated of both vain talkers and deceivers.

vain talkers-opposed to "holding fast the faithful word" (Tit 1:9). "Vain jangling" (1Ti 1:6); "foolish questions, unprofitable and vain" (Tit 3:9). The source of the evil was corrupted Judaism (Tit 1:14). Many Jews were then living in Crete, according to Josephus; so the Jewish leaven remained in some of them after conversion.

deceivers-literally, "deceivers of the minds of others" (Greek, Ga 6:3).

1:10-16 False teachers are described. Faithful ministers must oppose such in good time, that their folly being made manifest, they may go no further They had a base end in what they did; serving a worldly interest under pretence of religion: for the love of money is the root of all evil. Such should be resisted, and put to shame, by sound doctrine from the Scriptures. Shameful actions, the reproach of heathens, should be far from Christians; falsehood and lying, envious craft and cruelty, brutal and sensual practices, and idleness and sloth, are sins condemned even by the light of nature. But Christian meekness is as far from cowardly passing over sin and error, as from anger and impatience. And though there may be national differences of character, yet the heart of man in every age and place is deceitful and desperately wicked. But the sharpest reproofs must aim at the good of the reproved; and soundness in the faith is most desirable and necessary. To those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; they abuse, and turn things lawful and good into sin. Many profess to know God, yet in their lives deny and reject him. See the miserable state of hypocrites, such as have a form of godliness, but are without the power; yet let us not be so ready to fix this charge on others, as careful that it does not apply to ourselves.