⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be ^(A)my treasured possession among all peoples, for ^(B)all the earth is mine; ⁶ and you shall be to me a ^(C)kingdom of priests and ^(D)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

³⁶ “You shall make ^(A)a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ^(B)‘Holy to the Lord.’

^10 (A)“The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, ^(B)shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. ¹¹ He shall not ^(C)go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. ^12 (D)He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he ^(E)profane the sanctuary of his God, for the ^(F)consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord. ¹³ And he shall take a wife in her virginity.^{[a] 14} A widow, ^(G)or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin^[b] of his own people, ¹⁵ that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for ^(H)I am the Lord who sanctifies him.”

²⁰ Therefore, ^(A)we are ambassadors for Christ, ^(B)God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Qualifications for Overseers

3 The saying is ^(A)trustworthy: If anyone aspires to ^(B)the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore ^(C)an overseer^[a] must be above reproach, ^(D)the husband of one wife,^{[b] (E)}sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, ^(F)hospitable, ^(G)able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but ^(H)gentle, not quarrelsome, ^(I)not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity ^(J)keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for ^(K)God's church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may ^(L)become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by ^(M)outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into ^(N)a snare of the devil.

Qualifications for Deacons

^8 (O)Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,^{[c] (P)}not addicted to much wine, ^(Q)not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must ^(R)hold the mystery of the faith with ^(S)a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And ^(T)let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ^11 (U)Their wives likewise^[d] must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, ^(V)faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons each be ^(W)the husband of one wife, ^(X)managing their children and their own households well. ¹³ For ^(Y)those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ Let the elders ^(A)who rule well be considered worthy of ^(B)double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

⁹ But you are ^(A)a chosen race, ^(B)a royal ^(C)priesthood, ^(D)a holy nation, ^(E)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(F)out of darkness into ^(G)his marvelous light.