1 TIM 3:1 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT This word is trustworthy: “If someone aspires to overseership, he desires a good work.”

UST Everyone should trust this statement: “People who want to lead the rest of God’s people are seeking to do something that is good.”

BLB Trustworthy is the saying: If anyone aspires to overseership, he is desirous of a good work.

AICNT The word is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, they desire a noble task.

OEB How true is this saying: “To aspire to be a supervisor in the church is to be ambitious for a noble task.”

WEBBE This is a faithful saying: someone who seeks to be an overseer[fn] desires a good work.

3:1 or, superintendent, or bishop

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

MSG Leadership in the Church (1-7) If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.

NET This saying is trustworthy: “If someone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work.”

LSV The word [is] steadfast: If anyone longs for overseership, he desires a right work;

FBV This is a trustworthy statement: “If someone aspires to be an elder, this is a good work to want to do.”

TCNT This saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work.

T4T Anyone who aspires to be an elder in the congregation (OR, a bishop) desires a noble/honorable task.

LEB The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to supervision, he desires a good work.

BBE This is a true saying, A man desiring the position of a Bishop has a desire for a good work.

Moff It is a popular saying that "whoever aspires to office is set upon an excellent occupation."

Wymth Faithful is the saying, "If any one is eager to have the oversight of a Church, he desires a noble work."

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

DRA A faithful saying: if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

YLT Stedfast [is] the word: If any one the oversight doth long for, a right work he desireth;

Drby The word [is] faithful: if any one aspires to exercise oversight, he desires a good work.

RV Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
(Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh/seeks the office of a bishop, he desireth/desires a good work. )

SLT Faithful the word, If any strive for superintendence, he eagerly desires a good work.

Wbstr This is a true saying, If a man desireth the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

KJB-1769 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
(This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth/desires a good work. )

KJB-1611 ¶ This is a true saying: If a man desire the office of a Bishop, he desireth a good worke.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps This is a faithful saying: Yf a man desire ye office of a bishop, he desireth a good worke.
(This is a faithful saying: If a man desire ye/you_all office of a bishop, he desireth/desires a good work.)

Gnva This is a true saying, If any man desire the office of a Bishop, he desireth a worthie worke.
(This is a true saying, If any man desire the office of a Bishop, he desireth/desires a worthy work. )

Cvdl This is a true sayege: Yf a ma covet ye office of a Bisshoppe, he desyreth a good worke.
(This is a true saying: If a man covet ye/you_all office of a Bisshoppe, he desireth a good work.)

TNT This is a true sayinge. Yf a man covet the office of a bysshope he desyreth a good worke.
(This is a true saying. If a man covet the office of a bysshope he desireth a good work. )

Wycl A feithful word. If ony man desirith a bishopriche, he desirith a good werk.
(A faithful word. If any man desireth/desires a bishopriche, he desireth/desires a good work.)

Luth Das ist je gewißlich wahr, so jemand ein Bischofsamt begehret, der begehret ein köstlich Werk.
(The is each/ever certainly true, so someone a Bischofsamt desired, the/of_the desired a delicious work.)

ClVg Fidelis sermo: si quis episcopatum desiderat, bonum opus desiderat.[fn]
(Fidelis speech: when/but_if who/any episcopate desires, good work/need desires. )

3.1 Bonum opus desiderat. Opus, non dignitatem, laborem, non delicias, non crescere fastigio, sed humilitate decrescere, ut fiat servus et minister hominum propter Christum, ut etiam intermissa Rachele decora facie, sed non relicta, cum Jacob intret ad Liam oculis lippam, et de monte cum Moyse descendat ad campos, de otio contemplationis ad laborem actionis.

3.1 Good work/need desires. Opus, not/no dignity, work, not/no delicias, not/no to_grow fastigio, but humility decrescere, as fiat servant and minister of_men because Christ/Messiah, as also intermissa Rachele decorative face, but not/no abandoned, when/with Yacob intret to Liam eyes lippam, and from/about mountain when/with Moyse descend to fields, from/about leisure contemplation to work action.

UGNT πιστὸς ὁ λόγος: εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ.
(pistos ho logos: ei tis episkopaʸs oregetai, kalou ergou epithumei.)

SBL-GNT Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ.
(Pistos ho logos; ei tis episkopaʸs oregetai, kalou ergou epithumei.)

RP-GNT Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ.
(Pistos ho logos; ei tis episkopaʸs oregetai, kalou ergou epithumei.)

TC-GNT Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ.
(Pistos ho logos; ei tis episkopaʸs oregetai, kalou ergou epithumei. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–16: Paul described the sort of people who should lead a community of believers

In this section, Paul described the qualifications for Christian leaders, those who lead a group of believers.

This section can be divided into three paragraphs:

Paragraph 3:1–7: The sort of people who should be overseers

Paragraph 3:8–13: The sort of people who should be deacons

Paragraph 3:14–16: The reason Paul wrote this letter to Timothy

Paragraph 3:1–7

In this paragraph Paul told Timothy the qualities that a person needed to have in order to become an “overseer.” An overseer was someone who led and taught a group of believers.

3:1a

This is a trustworthy saying:

¶ This saying is reliable:
¶ This saying is something you can be sure is true,
¶ Believers know the following words, which can be trusted:

This is a trustworthy saying: This is an expression that Paul used often in his letters to Timothy and Titus. See 1 Timothy 1:15, 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 1:9, 3:8. You should try to use the same expression of introduction in all these places. Paul used this expression to introduce a saying that was well-known among believers at that time.

trustworthy: Paul said that what he was about to say was trustworthy. That means that it was true and reliable. Other ways to say this could be: “This saying really is true,” or “people should believe this.”

saying: A saying is an expression that is well known to people. In some languages it may be possible to use a word like “proverb.”

3:1b

If anyone aspires to be an overseer,

If someone longs to become an overseer,
Any person who really wants to be an overseer of other believers

If anyone aspires to be an overseer: This was a saying that was often repeated among the believers at that time. Timothy probably knew it well.

If: This saying begins with If, which often means that the speaker is not sure whether something will really happen or not. However, in Greek and English, it can also be used when the speaker knows that the event happens sometimes. Here Paul was not wondering whether someone was going to wish to become an overseer or not. He was telling Timothy what to do when it happened. In some languages it may be better to say something like:

The person who sets his heart on being an overseer [desires a noble task].

anyone: The Greek pronoun that the BSB translates as anyone here can include men and women. But it is clear from the list of requirements to be an overseer (3:2–7) that only men were overseers. So it is acceptable to translate this as “any man.”

aspires to: This Greek verb that the BSB translates as aspires to literally means “stretches toward.” It means that a person strongly desires something.

be an overseer: The Greek word episkopē that the BSB translates as be an overseer refers to the position of being an overseer.

overseer: In the New Testament, the Greek word episkopos was one of the names used for the leader of a group of believers. Another name that the New Testament used for this kind of leader is the Greek word translated as “elder.” Paul used the word translated “elder” in 4:14c, 5:17a, and 5:19a. If you can use two different words, it is recommended that you do so. However, in some languages, using two terms may cause readers to think Paul was talking about two different groups of people. If this is so in your area, use the same term for both Greek words.

English versions sometimes translate overseer by the word “bishop,” but this may be confused with the role of a bishop in the modern church. You should consider carefully what is the most appropriate term in your language. If there is already a church in your area, it may be best to choose the term already used for a church leader who teaches.

In the rest of this paragraph, Paul explained some of the responsibilities of an overseer. For example:

he was responsible for teaching the believers (3:2)
he was responsible for caring for them (3:5)
he was responsible for leading them (3:5)

3:1c

he desires a noble task.

what he wants to do is very good.
desires to do something that is excellent.

he desires: The Greek word that the BSB translates as desires is a different word than the one translated as “aspires to” earlier in the verse. However they both mean that the person wants something strongly. In some languages it may not be possible to say that someone desires a job or a “task.” In such languages, it may be necessary to say “he desires to do [a noble task].”

a noble task: The Greek word that the BSB translates as noble literally means “good,” “fine.” Paul meant that it was a worthwhile thing to lead and teach believers.

task: That is, “job,” “work,” “activity.”

General Comment on 3:1a–c

In some languages it may be helpful to reorder this verse so that Paul’s comment about the truthfulness of the saying comes after the saying itself. For example:

There is a saying among believers: “If anyone longs to become an overseer, he desires to do something noble.” This saying can be trusted.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

πιστὸς ὁ λόγος: εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ.