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¹ It is a faithful saying, that if a man desireth the eldership, he desireth a good work.² 2 And an elder ought to be such, that no blame can be found in him; and he should be the husband of one wife, with a vigilant mind, and sober and regular [fn] , and affectionate to strangers, and instructive; ³ and not a transgressor in regard to wine, and whose hand is not swift to strike; but he should be humble, and not contentious, nor a lover of money;⁴ and one that guideth well his own house, and holdeth his children in subjection with all purity.⁵ For if he knoweth not how to guide his own house well, how can he guide the church of God.⁶ Neither let him be of recent discipleship; lest he be uplifted, and fall into the condemnation of Satan.⁷ And there ought to be good testimony of him from those without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of Satan.

⁸ And so also the deacons should be pure, and not speak double, nor incline to much wine, nor love base gains;⁹ but should hold the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.¹⁰ And let them be first tried, and then let them serve, if they are without blame.¹¹ So also should the wives be chaste and of vigilant minds; and they should be faithful in all things; and they should not be slanderers.¹² Let the deacons be such as have each one wife and guide well their children and households.¹³ 13 For they who serve well [fn] , procure for themselves a good degree, and much boldness in the faith of Jesus the Messiah.