⁶ An elder must be blameless,^(A) faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe^[a] and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

⁹ He must hold firmly^(A) to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine^(B) and refute those who oppose it.

Rebuking Those Who Fail to Do Good

¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk^(A) and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.^(B)

¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.^(A) They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.^(B)