My child, if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within
you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
if you indeed cry out for insight,
and raise your voice for understanding;
if you seek it like silver,
and search for it as for hidden treasures
—
then you will understand the fear of the
LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,
guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand righteousness and
justice
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
prudence will watch over you;
and understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:1-11
A shoot shall come out from the stump of
Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
LORD.
is delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the
poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the
earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his
mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill
the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his
waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
Isaiah 11:1-9
See, a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule with justice.
Each will be like a hiding place from the
wind,
a covert from the tempest,
like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
Then the eyes of those who have sight will not
be closed,
and the ears of those who have hearing will
listen.
The minds of the rash will have good
judgment,
and the tongues of stammerers will speak
readily and distinctly.
A fool will no longer be called noble,
nor a villain said to be honorable.
For fools speak folly,
and their minds plot iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
to utter error concerning the LORD,
to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
The villainies of villains are evil;
they devise wicked devices
to ruin the poor with lying words,
even when the plea of the needy is right.
But those who are noble plan noble things,
and by noble things they stand.
Isaiah 32:1-8
The saying is sure: whoever aspires to
the office of bishop desires a noble task. Now a bishop must be
above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable,
hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle,
not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. He must manage his
own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in
every way — for if someone does not know how to manage
his own household, how can he take care of God's church? He
must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and
fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be
well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace
and the snare of the devil.
Deacons likewise must be serious, not
double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for
money; they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a
clear conscience. And let them first be tested; then, if they
prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons. Women
likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in
all things. Let deacons be married only once, and let them
manage their children and their households well; for those who
serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great
boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 3:1-7
Remind them of this, and warn them before God
that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but
only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present
yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to
be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. Avoid profane
chatter, for it will lead people into more and more impiety,
and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus
and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth by claiming that the
resurrection has already taken place. They are upsetting the faith of
some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this
inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and,
"Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from
wickedness."
In a large house there are utensils not only of
gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some
for ordinary. All who cleanse themselves of the things I have
mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the
owner of the house, ready for every good work. Shun youthful
passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with
those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to
do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed
quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but
kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting
opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will
repent and come to know the truth, and that they may escape from the
snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:14-26
I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so
that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should
appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: someone who is
blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not
accused of debauchery and not rebellious. For a bishop, as
God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or
quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but
he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout,
and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that
is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be
able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who
contradict it.
Titus 1:5-9
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