¹ Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

² A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully, and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

³ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

⁴ An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.

⁵ Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their parents.

⁷ Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a ruler.

⁸ A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it; wherever they turn they prosper.

⁹ One who forgives an affront fosters friendship, but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.

¹⁰ A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning person than a hundred blows into a fool.

¹¹ Evil people seek only rebellion, but a cruel messenger will be sent against them.

¹² Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs than to confront a fool immersed in folly.

¹³ Evil will not depart from the house of one who returns evil for good.

¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so stop before the quarrel breaks out.

¹⁵ One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

¹⁶ Why should fools have a price in hand to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.

¹⁸ It is senseless to give a pledge, to become surety for a neighbor.

¹⁹ One who loves transgression loves strife; one who builds a high threshold invites broken bones.

²⁰ The crooked of mind do not prosper, and the perverse of tongue fall into calamity.

¹   The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. ² Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way— ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

⁸   Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; ⁹ they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons. ¹¹ Women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their children and their households well; ¹³ for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴   I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, ¹⁵ if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. ¹⁶ Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

⁴³   “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.”

⁴⁶   While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” ⁴⁸ But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”