¹The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.²Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,³not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.⁴He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,⁵for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.⁷Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.⁹They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.¹⁰And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.¹¹Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.¹²Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.¹³For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,¹⁵if 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 truth.

¹⁶Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.