1 The saying is trustworthy: if a man seeks the office of overseer, it is a good work he is longing for.
2 The overseer therefore must be beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, of good conduct, given to hospitality, skilled in teaching;
3 not a drinker, not a brawler, not eager for shameful gain, but kind, not contentious, free from the love of money;
4 ruling his own household well, with children who obey him with full respect.
5 If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how will he look after the church of God?
6 Not a new believer, so that he does not swell with pride and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7 He must also be well spoken of by those outside, so that he does not fall into reproach and into the devil's trap.
8 Deacons, likewise, must be worthy of respect, not two-faced, not given to a lot of wine, not eager for shameful gain,
9 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
10 These too must first be tested; then, if no charge is found against them, let them serve.
11 Their wives, in the same way, must be serious, not slanderous, temperate, faithful in all things.
12 Deacons are each to be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own households well.
13 For those who have served well win for themselves a good standing and much confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
14 I write you these things, though I hope to come to you before long;
15 but in case I am delayed, so that you may know how one must conduct oneself in God's house, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
16 And confessedly great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, received up into glory.