1 TIMOTHY 3

1 Anyone who aspires to be an elder in the congregation (OR, a bishop) desires a noble/honorable task. 2 Since that is a task that others should respect, an overseer must live in such a way that no one can truly ◄say that he has done anything that is wrong/find fault with him►. Specifically, he must be faithful to his wife. He must think clearly about what he does. He must be able to control his behavior. He must be sensible. He must be dignified/respectable. He must welcome and care for guests. He must be able to teach God’s truth well. 3 He must not be a drunkard. He must not be ready/quick to fight those who make him angry. On the contrary, he must be gentle and he must not be quarrelsome. He must not be greedy for a lot of money. 4 He must lead and care for his own household/family well. For example, he must be a man whom his children obey and completely respect, 5 because if anyone does not know how he should lead well and care for well the people who live in his own house, ◄he certainly cannot care for God’s congregation!/how can he care for God’s congregation?► [RHQ] 6 He must not be one who has just recently trusted in Jesus, because if you choose a man like that, he might become conceited/proud because you chose him so soon. As a result of his being conceited/proud, God will condemn him like he condemned the devil because he was conceited/proud. 7 Moreover, an elder must live in such a way that non-Christians speak well of him, because if he conducts himself like that, people will not say evil things about him, and the devil will not capture/trap him [MET] like people capture animals in a trap.