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Overseers and Deacons

This is a faithful and trustworthy saying: if any man [eagerly] seeks the office of [a]overseer (bishop, superintendent), he desires an excellent task. Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 3:1 Or bishop.

Leaders in the Church

This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader,[a] he desires an honorable position.” So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife.[b] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:1 Or an overseer, or a bishop; also in 3:2, 6.
  2. 3:2 Or must have only one wife, or must be married only once; Greek reads must be the husband of one wife; also in 3:12.