1 The saying is v trustworthy: If anyone aspires to w the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore x an overseer 1 must be above reproach, y the husband of one wife, 2 z sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, a hospitable, b able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but c gentle, not quarrelsome, d not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity e keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for w God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may f become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by g outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into h a snare of the devil.
8 i Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, 3 j not addicted to much wine, k not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must l hold the mystery of the faith with m a clear conscience. 10 And n let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 o Their wives likewise must 4 be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, p faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be q the husband of one wife, q managing their children and their own households well. 13 For r those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
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Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
s He 5 was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated 6 by the Spirit, 7
t seen by angels,
u proclaimed among the nations,
v believed on in the world,
w taken up in glory.