1 Timothy 3

Here is a saying you can trust: if anyone wants to be an overseer, he wants good work. An overseer is a man who leads and watches over a church.

1This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

Note"Bishop" translates the Greek episkopos, which simply means overseer or supervisor; it was an ordinary word for an official who inspects and manages, and it does not carry the later sense of a churchman set over many congregations. "This is a true saying" renders a set formula Paul uses several times in these letters, marking a compact piece of teaching already in circulation, something like "here is a reliable saying".

2So an overseer must be a man no one can fairly accuse of wrong. He must be the husband of one wife, clear-headed, self-controlled, and respectable. He must welcome guests into his home, and be able to teach.

2A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

Note"The husband of one wife" is literally "a one-woman man" in Greek, and what it rules out has been argued over since the earliest centuries: polygamy, remarriage after divorce, remarriage after a spouse's death, or simply unfaithfulness. The Greek phrase itself does not settle it. "Vigilant" and "sober" are not about staying awake or staying off drink; both Greek words describe a person who is temperate, clear-headed and in command of himself. "Given to hospitality" translates a word meaning love of strangers: with few safe inns, traveling believers depended on private homes to take them in.

3He must not be a heavy drinker or a violent man. He must not be greedy for money made in shameful ways. Instead he must be gentle, not a fighter, and not in love with money.

3Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

Note"Filthy lucre" means shameful profit; "lucre" is just an old word for gain, and the point is money made by disgraceful means. "No striker" means not a man who hits people. "Patient" here is wider than waiting: the Greek word describes someone yielding and forbearing, willing to give way rather than press his own rights.

4He must manage his own household well, and his children must obey him and treat him with full respect.

4One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

Note"Gravity" means dignity and seriousness; it has nothing to do with weight. The Greek leaves it open whether the dignity belongs to the father's manner of governing or to the children's manner of obeying.

5For if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church?

5(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

6He must not be a new believer. If he is, pride may swell up in him, and he may fall under the same judgment the devil fell under.

6Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Note"Novice" translates a Greek word meaning newly planted, that is, a recent convert. "The condemnation of the devil" is ambiguous in Greek: it can mean the judgment the devil himself fell under, or the judgment the devil brings about by accusing. The same openness runs into the next verse, where "the snare of the devil" can mean the trap the devil sets or the trap of ending up like him.

7He must also have a good reputation with people outside the church. Otherwise he may fall into disgrace, and into the devil's trap.

7Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Note"Them which are without" means people outside the Christian community. "A good report of them" means a good reputation among them, what outsiders say about him; it is not a report he makes about them. In 1611 English "of" regularly carried the sense of "by" or "from".

8In the same way, deacons must be men worthy of respect. They must not say one thing to one person and something else to another. They must not drink too much wine or be greedy for money made in shameful ways.

8Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

Note"Deacons" is the Greek word diakonos carried over rather than translated. It means servant or attendant, and here refers to a recognized role of practical service in the congregation. "Grave" means dignified and worthy of respect, with none of the modern suggestion of gloom. "Doubletongued" means telling one story to one person and a different one to the next.

9They must hold on to the truth of the faith, once hidden and now made known, with a clear conscience.

9Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

Note"Mystery" translates the Greek mysterion, which does not mean something puzzling or unknowable. It means a secret long kept hidden and now openly disclosed, and that is its regular sense throughout these letters.

10These men must be tested first. Then, if nothing can be held against them, let them serve as deacons.

10And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.

Note"Proved" means tested or examined, the way metal is assayed for purity. "Let them use the office of a deacon" renders a single Greek verb meaning simply "let them serve as deacons".

11In the same way, the women must be worthy of respect. They must not spread damaging talk about others. They must be clear-headed and trustworthy in everything.

11Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.

NoteThe Greek word here can mean either "wives" or "women"; Greek has no separate word for wife, and this phrase has no "their" in it. So the verse may be setting standards for the deacons' wives, or for women who themselves serve as deacons, and the grammar does not decide between them. "Slanderers" translates diabolous, the plural of the very word rendered "devil" in verses 6 and 7; it means people who fling accusations about.

12A deacon must be the husband of one wife, and must manage his children and his own household well.

12Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

13Those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves, and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

13For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Note"Purchase to themselves a good degree" means gain a good standing for themselves. "Degree" is a step or rank, and "purchase" in 1611 English meant to acquire or obtain, with no money involved. "Boldness" translates a Greek word for freedom of speech, the confidence to speak openly without fear.

14I am writing these instructions to you, and I hope to come to you soon.

14These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:

Note"Shortly" here means soon, not briefly.

15But I may be delayed, so I am writing them now, to let you know how people should conduct themselves in God's household. That household is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

15But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Note"Tarry" means to be delayed or held up. "The house of God" means household, the people who make up the family, not a building. "How thou oughtest to behave thyself": the Greek does not name a subject, so it can mean how Timothy is to conduct himself or how anyone in God's household is to. "Ground" here means foundation or support, the base a thing stands on, not soil.

16And beyond any dispute, the hidden truth of a godly life, now made known, is great: God appeared in a human body, was shown to be right by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was announced among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, and was taken up into glory.

16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Note"Without controversy" means beyond dispute, and it introduces what appears to be a quotation: the six lines that follow are short, rhythmic and parallel, and are widely taken to be a hymn or confession already known to the readers. "God was manifest in the flesh": the oldest Greek manuscripts read "he who was manifest", the difference being two letters that are nearly identical in old handwriting, and later copies read "God". "Justified in the Spirit" does not mean forgiven; the word means vindicated, shown to have been in the right. "Seen of angels" means seen by angels, "of" carrying the sense of "by". "Gentiles" translates a word meaning nations, that is, all the peoples other than the Jews.