# 1 Timothy 3.2

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [1 Timothy](/codex/1-timothy/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 1. Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
>
> **2. The bishop therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach;**
>
> 3. no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money; 4. one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (1 Timothy 3:1-4, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 1. This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer, he desires a good work.
>
> **2. The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;**
>
> 3. not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4. one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; (1 Timothy 3:1-4, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 1. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
>
> **2. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; <sup>of good: or, modest</sup>**
>
> 3. Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; <sup>given: or, ready to quarrel, and offer wrong, as one in wine</sup> 4. One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (1 Timothy 3:1-4, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 1. Stedfast [is] the word: If any one the oversight doth long for, a right work he desireth;
>
> **2. it behoveth, therefore, the overseer to be blameless, of one wife a husband, vigilant, sober, decent, a friend of strangers, apt to teach,**
>
> 3. not given to wine, not a striker, not given to filthy lucre, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money, 4. his own house leading well, having children in subjection with all gravity, (1 Timothy 3:1-4, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Islamic Sex Slavery Objection Defeater](/codex/islamic-sex-slavery-objection-defeater/)
- [OT Polygamy Objection Defeater](/codex/ot-polygamy-objection-defeater/)

**Concepts:**

- [Teacher](/codex/teacher/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.