Faithful is the word: If anyone  ¹aspires to the  ²overseership, he desires a good work.

The  ¹overseer then must be  ²without reproach, the  ³husband of one wife,  ⁴temperate,  ⁵of a sober mind,  ⁶orderly,  ⁷hospitable,  ⁸apt to teach;

 ¹Not an excessive drinker;  ²not a striker, but  ³gentle;  ⁴not contentious;  ⁵not fond of money;

One who  ¹manages well his own house, having his children in subjection with all  ²gravity

(But if one does not know how to manage his own house, how will he care for the church of God?);

Not a  ¹new convert, lest being  ²blinded with pride he fall into the  ³judgment suffered by the devil.

And he also must have a  ¹good testimony from  ²those outside, that he may not fall into reproach and the  ³snare of the  ⁴devil.

 ¹Deacons must similarly be grave,  ²not double-tongued,  ³not addicted to much wine,  ⁴not greedy for base gain;

Holding the  ¹mystery of the faith in a  ²pure conscience.

And these also must first  ¹be proved; then let them  ²minister if they are  ³unreprovable.

 ¹Women similarly must be grave,  ²not slanderers,  ³temperate,  ⁴faithful in all things.

Deacons must be  ¹husbands of one wife,  ²managing their children and their own houses well.

For those who have  ¹ministered well obtain for themselves a  ²good standing and  ³much boldness in faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly.

But if I delay, I write that you may know  ¹how one ought to conduct himself in the  ²house of God, which is the church of the  ³living God, the  ⁴pillar and base of the  ⁵truth.

And  ¹confessedly, great is the  ²mystery of godliness:  ³He who was  ⁴manifested in the flesh,  ⁵Justified in the Spirit,  ⁶Seen by angels,  ⁷Preached among the nations,  ⁸Believed on in the world,  ⁹Taken up in glory.

The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the  ¹drought:

Judah mourns,
And her gates languish;
In black they mourn on the ground,
And the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

And their nobles send their servants for water;
They come to cisterns,
And they find no water;
They return with their vessels empty;
They are ashamed and confounded
And cover their heads.

Because the ground is cracked,
For there has been no rain on the earth,
The farmers are ashamed;
They cover their heads.

For even the hind in the field gives birth and abandons its young
Because there is no grass.

And the wild asses stand on the bare heights;
They pant after the wind like jackals;
Their eyes fail,
For there is no herbage.

Although our iniquities testify against us,
O Jehovah, act for You're name's sake,
For our apostasies have become many;
We have sinned against You.

O Hope of Israel,
Its Savior in a time of distress,
Why should You be like a sojourner in the land,
Like a traveler who turns aside to lodge for the night?

Why should You be like an astonished man,
Like a mighty man who is unable to save?
Yet You are in our midst, O Jehovah,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us.

Thus says Jehovah to this people, Even so they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore Jehovah has no delight in them; now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.

And Jehovah said to me, Do not pray for the welfare of this people.

When they fast, I will not listen to their cry; when they offer up a burnt offering and a meal offering, I will not accept them; but by sword and by famine and by pestilence I will consume them.

And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! Indeed, the prophets say to them, You will not see sword, nor will you have famine, for I will give you assured peace in this place.

And Jehovah said to me, The prophets prophesy falsehood in My name; I did not send them or command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision and divination and a worthless thing and the deceit of their own heart.

Therefore thus says Jehovah concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, although I did not send them, yet they say, A sword and famine will not be in this land: By sword and by famine those prophets will be consumed.

And the people to whom they prophesy will be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them — them, their wives, and their sons and their daughters — and I will pour out their own wickedness on them.

And you shall speak this word to them,
Let  ¹my eyes run down with tears
Night and day, and let them not cease;
For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with great brokenness,
A very grievous wound.

If I go forth into the field —
Look, those slain by the sword;
And if I come into the city —
Look, those diseased with famine.
For both the prophet and the priest
Will go about in a land that they do not know.

Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Or does Your soul loathe Zion?
Why have You stricken us
So that there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace, but no good came;
And for a time of healing, but there was terror.

We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness,
The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You.

Do not hold us in contempt, for Your name's sake;
Do not dishonor Your throne of glory;
Remember and do not break Your covenant with us.

Are there among the vanities of the nations any that can bring rain,
Or in the heavens any that can give showers?
Are You not He, O Jehovah our God?
Therefore we wait for You,
For You have made all these things.

And Jehovah said to me, Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My soul would not turn toward this people. Send them out of My sight and let them go.

And when they say to you, Where shall we go? Then you shall say to them, Thus says Jehovah,
Those who are for death to death,
And those who are for the sword to the sword,
And those who are for famine to famine,
And those who are for captivity to captivity.

And I will visit them with four kinds of punishment, declares Jehovah: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

And I will make them a horror among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of  ¹Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.

For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
And who will lament for you;
And who will turn aside to ask
After your welfare?

You have forsaken Me,
Declares Jehovah.
You keep going backward,
And I have stretched out My hand against you
And have destroyed you;
I have become  ¹weary of repenting.

And I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork
In the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them of children
And destroyed My people;
They have not turned back from their ways.

Their widows have increased before Me
More than the sand of the seas;
I have brought to them,
Against the mother of the young men,
A spoiler at noon;
I have caused anguish and terror
To fall on her suddenly.

She who has borne seven languishes;
She has breathed out her life.
Her sun has gone down while it is still day;
She is put to shame and confounded.
And the rest of them I will give up to the sword
Before their enemies,
Declares Jehovah.