3 aThis is a true saying, If a man desire bthe office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 cA dbishop then must be eblameless, fthe husband of one wife, gvigilant, hsober, ||of good behaviour, igiven to hospitality, kapt to teach; 3 ||lNot given to wine, no striker, mnot greedy of filthy lucre; but npatient, onot a brawler, pnot covetous; 4 qOne that ruleth well his own house, qhaving his children in subjection with all rgravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of sthe church of God?) 6 Not ||a novice, lest being tlifted up with pride he fall into uthe condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must vhave a good report of wthem which are without; lest he fall into reproach and xthe snare of the devil. 8 Likewise must ythe deacons be zgrave, anot doubletongued, anot given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 bHolding the mystery of the faith in ca pure conscience. 10 And cclet these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found dblameless. 11 Even so must their wives be egrave, not fslanderers, gsober, faithful in all things. 12 Let the deacons be gthe husbands of one wife, hruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For ithey that have ||used the office of a deacon well kpurchase to themselves a good degree, and great lboldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in mthe house of God, which is nthe church of othe living God, the ppillar and ||ground of ppthe truth. 16 And without controversy great is bthe mystery of qgodliness: God was †manifest rin the flesh, sjustified in the Spirit, tseen of angels, upreached wunto the Gentiles, xbelieved on in the world, yreceived up zinto glory.

4 Now athe Spirit bspeaketh expressly, that cin the latter times some shall ddepart from the faith, giving heed to eseducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 fSpeaking lies gin hypocrisy; hhaving their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 iForbidding to marry, jand commanding kto abstain from meats, lwhich God hath created to be received mwith thanksgiving of them which believe and nknow the truth. 4 For oevery creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received mwith thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified oby the word of God and pprayer. 6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, qnourished up in the words of faith and of qqgood doctrine, whereunto thou hast rattained. 7 But srefuse profane and old wives’ tfables, and uexercise thyself rather unto vgodliness. 8 For wbodily exercise profiteth ||little: xbut vgodliness is profitable unto all things, yhaving promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. 9 zThis is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. 10 For therefore awe both labour and suffer reproach, because we btrust in cthe living God, who is dthe Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. 11 eThese things command and teach.

12 fLet no man despise gthy youth; but hbe thou ian example of the believers, in word, in jconversation, in kcharity, in spirit, in kfaith, in lpurity. 13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to mexhortation, to ndoctrine. 14 oNeglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee pby prophecy, qwith the laying on of rthe hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy sprofiting may appear ||to all. 16 tTake heed unto thyself, and unto the ndoctrine; continue in them: for in doing this uthou shalt both save thyself, and xthem that hear thee.

5 aRebuke not ban elder, but intreat him as a father; and bbthe younger men as brethren; 2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all cpurity. 3 Honour widows dthat are widows indeed. 4 But if any widow have children or enephews, let them learn first fto shew ||piety at home, and to requite their parents: gfor that is good and acceptable before God. 5 Now dshe that is a widow indeed, and desolate, htrusteth in God, and icontinueth in supplications and prayers jnight and day. 6 But she that liveth ||in pleasure kis dead while she liveth. 7 And lthese things give in charge, that they may be mblameless. 8 But if any provide not for nhis own, and specially for othose of his own ||house, he hath pdenied the faith, and is worse than qan infidel. 9 Let not a widow be ||taken into the number under threescore years old, rhaving been the wife of one man, 10 sWell reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have tlodged strangers, if she have uwashed the saints’ feet, if she have vrelieved the afflicted, if she have wdiligently followed every xgood work. 11 But the younger widows yrefuse: for when they have begun to zwax wanton against Christ, athey will marry; 12 Having damnation, because they have bcast off their first faith. 13 And withal they learn to be idle, cwandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but dtattlers also and ebusybodies, speaking things which they ought not. 14 I will therefore fthat the younger women marry, bear children, gguide the house, hgive none ioccasion to the adversary †to speak reproachfully. 15 For some are already jturned aside after kSatan. 16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them lrelieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may lrelieve mthem that are widows indeed.

17 Let nthe elders othat rule well pbe counted worthy of qdouble rhonour, especially they who labour in the word and sdoctrine. 18 For tthe scripture saith, uThou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, wThe labourer is worthy of his reward. 19 Against nan elder receive not an accusation, but ||xbefore two or three witnesses. 20 Them that sin yrebuke zbefore all, athat others also may fear. 21 bcI charge thee cbefore God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things ||without preferring one before another, ddoing nothing by partiality. 22 eLay hands eesuddenly on no man, neither fbe partaker of other men’s sins: gkeep thyself pure. 23 Drink no longer water, but use ha little wine ifor thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities. 24 Some men’s jsins are kopen beforehand, lgoing before to judgment; and some men they follow after. 25 Likewise also the good works of some are kmanifest beforehand; and mthey that are otherwise cannot be hid.