1 Timothy 3:2

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”
King James Version (KJV)

Other Translations of 1 Timothy 3:2

A Bishop then must be blamelesse, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behauiour, giuen to hospitalitie, apt to teach;
- King James Version (1611) - Compare to scan of original 1 Timothy chapter 3

An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
- New American Standard Version (1995)

The bishop therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
- American Standard Version (1901)

The Bishop, then, is to be a man of good name, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, serious-minded, having respect for order, opening his house freely to guests, a ready teacher;
- Basic English Bible

The overseer then must be irreproachable, husband of one wife, sober, discreet, decorous, hospitable, apt to teach;
- Darby Bible

It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher,
- Douay Rheims Bible

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
- Webster's Bible

A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;
- Weymouth Bible

The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;
- World English Bible

Therfor it bihoueth a byschop to be with out repreef, the hosebonde of o wijf, sobre, prudent, chast, vertewous, holdinge hospitalite, a techere;
- Wycliffe Bible

it behoveth, therefore, the overseer to be blameless, of one wife a husband, vigilant, sober, decent, a friend of strangers, apt to teach,
- Youngs Literal Bible

BJGibson's comment on 2024-03-17 13:20:01:

being Sober

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;" 1 Timothy 3:2 KJV

A sober person is serious person (making and doing what is important, taking the gospel of Jesus Christ seriously. Since as in the office of a Bishop, God is the supervisor of this office, if you will, and God is a spirit. Being able to have a knowing of the unseen presence of God at all times. (all believers should have a God consciousness)

A sober person is a solemn person (being able to perform sacred ceremonies or worship rituals with great importance and in a highly serious manner.

In order for a Bishop to perform this their thinking has to be sober, and not experiencing uncontrolled thoughts, having complete focus and be in charge of his thoughts and thinking on purpose. During times of holy ceremonies a Bishop needs to be fully reverencing God and the things of God, with his heart and mind open to God and not things of the flesh during sacred times and events.

Because all believers need to be serious also and participate in solemn ceremonies a Bishop is needed to be an example of a sober minded person. A Bishop is needed to teach about such things as well.

Respectfully submitted in the name of our precious Lord and Saviour Jesus, the Christ.

Earl Poitier's comment on 2021-05-08 23:23:46:

Sadly, so many are so unlearn that we have a tense to Judge so quickly tell we can't understand. The law was set for the children, Isreal. If we read the word of God carefully, Abraham had two wives, Jacob had two wives, King Davis had two wives, and so owned this was a comma practice in the early days. In New Testament, the Gentiles that were all baptized in Jesus' name was all Die in the watery grave was all risen in newness. 1 Corinthian 7: 10-16 explain. Now for the two wives, which was a practice in the early church, this is one reason why the Office of a Bishop must have one wife. Remember in your study what happens between Sarah and Haggi Jacob Rachel and Leah. I want to go into greater detail, but some of my teaching you will find in The Word of Truth Ministry.

Kay's comment on 2020-11-06 05:24:59:

Prayerfully request Biblical instruction and the will of God, that sanctions, or not, whether women can become ordained pastors, ministers, preachers...

Thank you....

rosezann's comment on 2015-09-14 17:15:01:

The woman must be virtuous an of modest behavior obedient to husband thy children shall rise an call her blessed

Deborah Siffing's comment on 2014-12-16 18:13:42:

A Pastor is suppose set an example for his congregation . The only way should remarry is his wife past away, then he could Marry again !! God does not make mistakes . Are churches so corrupt ! That if he marry again, he should step from the pulpit !!!!!

Rocky's comment on 2014-12-05 14:46:06:

This scripture desires a close study and not just a glance to say that it 's final interpertation disqulifies men who have been divorced or married to a woman that had been previously divorced. It is clear that Paul is looking at the current status of the man and not the past in which the blood of Jesus has washed away...A pastor should be a one woman man, married to one woman at once and not looking with an adulterous eye for another. All the qualifying points relate to a man that has been saved and has shown himself as faithful to all things concerning Godly service over a period of time that validates his call to service and faithfulness to perform that service without being overtaken by the enemy...Too many people have taken this to a dogmatic level and while there may be pastors and deacons in our assemblies that have only been married once, they are missing one, some or all of the other qualifiers...So many churches have disqualified leaders based on the marriage issue but have overlooked the other qualifiers on this list. Stop and ask if God could take a murderer, rapist,thief or any other sin sick manner of man and save him, clean him up and call him to lead his people .... The Apostle Paul says Absolutley ! When you put sin in perspective vs. ranking it 's obvious that God can do what man can 't do ... Forgive and Forget !!!

Joe's comment on 2013-05-22 10:48:00:

The one part of this scripture I would like to discuss is the husband of one wife. Many pastors and baptist missions board hang their hat on this one scripture when it comes to invalidating a man's ability to be a pastor of a church or be a missionary. The only requirement is that "he" be married to only one woman. The reverse is not true because the scripture does not include "the wife of this bishop can only ever been married to this bishop..." To be in a position to be called of God into the pastoralship should be allowed even if a man marries a woman who was married previously. If he has only been married this once and will only be married this once then he should be able to follow his call of God to serve as a pastor or missionary. In my continued reading I have not found scripture that would make me think otherwise of a wife of a bishop should never have been married before.

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