⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, ^(A)“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^(B)but the Lord looks on the heart.”

^3 (A)Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be ^(B)the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. ⁵ For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^(C)calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and ^(D)do not fear anything that is frightening.

⁹ likewise also ^(A)that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, ^10 (B)but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

⁵ She ^(A)who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and ^(B)continues in supplications and prayers night and day, ⁶ but ^(C)she who is self-indulgent is ^(D)dead even while she lives. ^7 (E)Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for ^(F)members of his household, he has ^(G)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been ^(H)the wife of one husband,^{[a] 10} and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has ^(I)shown hospitality, ^(J)has washed the feet of the saints, has ^(K)cared for the afflicted, and has ^(L)devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when ^(M)their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry ¹² and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. ¹³ Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also ^(N)gossips and ^(O)busybodies, saying what they should not. ¹⁴ So I would have ^(P)younger widows marry, bear children, ^(Q)manage their households, and ^(R)give the adversary no occasion for slander.