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Commands to households

So what must you do? Just this: you must instruct people how to conduct themselves in accordance with healthy teaching.

The older men are to be sober, dignified, sensible, and healthy in faith, love and patience. In the same way, older women are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or enslaved to heavy drinking, able to teach what is good. That way, they can give sensible instructions to the younger women on how to love their husbands and their children, and how to be sensible, holy, good at looking after the household, and submissive to their own husbands, so that people won’t have bad things to say about the word of God. You must urge the younger men, in the same way, to be sensible in all things.

Make sure you present yourself as a pattern of good works. Your teaching must be consistent and serious, in healthy speech that is beyond reproach. That way, our opponents will be ashamed, since they won’t have anything bad to say about us.

Slaves must be submissive in everything to their masters. They must do what is wanted and not answer back 10 or help themselves to their masters’ property. They are to show good faith in everything, so that in every way they may be a good advertisement for the teaching of God our savior.

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