²⁷ When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to ^(A)report all the things that God had done with them and ^[a]how He had opened a ^(B)door of faith to the Gentiles.

Farewell to Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent word to ^(A)Ephesus and called to himself ^(B)the elders of the church.

Overseers and Deacons

3 ^(A)It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the ^(B)office of ^[a]overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. ^2 [b](C)An overseer, then, must be above reproach, ^(D)the husband of one wife, ^[c](E)temperate, self-controlled, respectable, ^(F)hospitable, ^(G)skillful in teaching, ^3 (H)not overindulging in wine, not ^[d]a bully, but gentle, not contentious, ^(I)free from the love of money. ⁴ He must be one who ^(J)manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity ⁵ (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of ^(K)the church of God?), ⁶ and not a new convert, so that he will not become ^(L)conceited and fall into ^(M)condemnation ^[e]incurred by the devil. ⁷ And he must ^(N)have a good reputation with ^(O)those outside the church, so that he will not fall into ^[f]disgrace and ^(P)the snare of the devil.

^8 (Q)Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not ^[g]insincere, ^(R)not prone to drink much wine, ^(S)not greedy for money, ^9 (T)but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ^10 (U)These men must also first be tested; then have them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. ^11 [h]Women must likewise be dignified, ^(V)not malicious gossips, but ^[i](W)temperate, faithful in all things. ^12 (X)Deacons must be ^(Y)husbands of one wife, and ^[j](Z)good managers of their children and their own households. ¹³ For those who have served well as deacons ^(AA)obtain for themselves a ^[k]high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Qualifications of Elders

⁵ For this reason I left you in ^(A)Crete, that you would set in order what remains and ^(B)appoint ^(C)elders in every city as I directed you, ⁶ namely, ^(D)if any man is beyond reproach, the ^(E)husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of ^(F)indecent behavior or ^(G)rebellion. ⁷ For the ^[a](H)overseer must be beyond reproach as ^(I)God’s steward, not ^(J)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not ^(K)overindulging in wine, not ^[b]a bully, ^(L)not greedy for money, ⁸ but ^(M)hospitable, ^(N)loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, ^9 (O)holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to ^[c]exhort in ^(P)sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.

^10 (Q)For there are many ^(R)rebellious people, ^(S)empty talkers and deceivers, especially ^(T)those of the circumcision, ¹¹ who must be silenced because they are upsetting ^(U)whole families, teaching ^(V)things they should not teach ^(W)for the sake of ^[d]dishonest gain.