1 Timothy 3
All 16 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.
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- 1Here is a trustworthy statement: if someone aspires to be an overseer, they desire a noble task.
- 2An overseer, then, must be blameless, the husband of one wife, watchful, sensible, respectable, hospitable, and able to teach.
- 3He must not be a heavy drinker, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain, but patient, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.
- 4He must manage his own household well, keeping his children in obedience with all seriousness.
- 5(After all, if a man can't manage his own family, how could he possibly take care of God's church?)
- 6He must not be a new convert, lest he become proud and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
- 7He must also have a good reputation with people outside the church. Otherwise, he'll be open to disgrace and fall into the devil's trap.
- 8Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
- 9Holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.
- 10They should be tested first, and only after proving themselves blameless should they serve as deacons.
- 11In the same way, their wives must be dignified, not slanderers, sober-minded, and faithful in all things.
- 12Deacons should be the husbands of one wife and manage their children and households well.
- 13For those who serve well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
- 14I'm writing these instructions to you now, and I hope to visit you soon.
- 15But if I am delayed, I want you to know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
- 16And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was revealed in the flesh, justified by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and taken up into glory.