¹Msemo huu ni wa kweli: mtu akitaka kuwa kiongozi katika kanisa, huyo anatamani kazi nzuri.

¹Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

²Basi, kiongozi wa kanisa anapaswa awe mtu asiye na lawama; anapaswa awe na mke mmoja tu, awe mwenye kiasi, nidhamu na utaratibu; ni lazima awe mkarimu na anayeweza kufundisha;

²The bishop therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

³asiwe mlevi au mtu wa matata, bali awe mpole, apendaye amani; asiwe mtu wa kupenda fedha;

³no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money;

⁴anapaswa awe mtu awezaye kuongoza vema nyumba yake, na kuwafanya watoto wake wawe watii kwa heshima yote.

⁴one that ruleth well his own house, having [his] children in subjection with all gravity;

⁵Maana kama mtu hawezi kuongoza vema nyumba yake, atawezaje kulitunza kanisa la Mungu?

⁵(but if a man knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

⁶Mtu ambaye hajakomaa bado katika imani asifanywe kuwa kiongozi katika kanisa, asije akajaa majivuno na kuhukumiwa kama vile Ibilisi alivyohukumiwa.

⁶not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

⁷Anapaswa awe mwenye sifa njema kati ya watu walio nje ya kanisa, ili asije akalaumiwa na kuanguka katika mtego wa Ibilisi.

⁷Moreover he must have good testimony from them that are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

⁸Wasaidizi katika kanisa wanapaswa pia kuwa watu wenye tabia njema na wanyofu; wasiwe wanywaji mno wa divai au wenye tamaa ya fedha;

⁸Deacons in like manner [must be] grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

⁹wanapaswa kuzingatia kwa dhamiri njema ukweli wa ndani wa imani.

⁹holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

¹⁰Ni lazima kwanza wathibitishwe, na wakionekana kuwa wanafaa, basi, watoe huduma yao.

¹⁰And let these also first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, if they be blameless.

¹¹Wake zao wanapaswa pia kuwa na tabia njema, wasiowasengenya watu, wenye kiasi na waaminifu katika mambo yote.

¹¹Women in like manner [must be] grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.

¹²Msaidizi katika kanisa lazima awe na mke moja tu, na awezaye kuongoza vema watoto wake na nyumba yake.

¹²Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling [their] children and their own houses well.

¹³Maana wasaidizi wanaofanya kazi yao vizuri hujipatia msimamo mzuri, na wanaweza kusema bila hofu juu ya imani yao katika Kristo Yesu.

¹³For they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Ninakuandikia barua hii nikiwa na matumaini ya kuja kwako hivi karibuni.

¹⁴These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly;

¹⁵Lakini kama nikicheleweshwa, basi, barua hii itakufahamisha mwenendo tunaopaswa kuwa nao katika nyumba ya Mungu, ambayo ni kanisa la Mungu aliye hai, na ambalo ni nguzo na msingi wa ukweli.

¹⁵but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

¹⁶Hakuna mashaka yoyote juu ya ukuu wa siri ya dini yetu: Alionekana katika umbo la kibinadamu alithibitishwa na Roho kuwa ni mwadilifu, akaonekana na malaika. Alihubiriwa kati ya mataifa, aliaminiwa popote ulimwenguni, akachukuliwa juu mbinguni katika utukufu.

¹⁶And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.