¹ It is for you, then, to preach the behaviour which goes with healthy doctrine.

² Older men should be reserved, dignified, moderate, sound in faith and love and perseverance.

³ Similarly, older women should behave as befits religious people, with no scandal-mongering and no addiction to wine -- they must be the teachers of right behaviour

⁴ and show younger women how they should love their husbands and love their children,

⁵ how they must be sensible and chaste, and how to work in their homes, and be gentle, and obey their husbands, so that the message of God is not disgraced.

⁶ Similarly, urge younger men to be moderate in everything that they do,

⁷ and you yourself set an example of good works, by sincerity and earnestness, when you are teaching, and by a message sound and irreproachable

⁸ so that any opponent will be at a loss, with no accusation to make against us.

⁹ Slaves must be obedient to their masters in everything, and do what is wanted without argument;

¹⁰ and there must be no pilfering -- they must show complete honesty at all times, so that they are in every way a credit to the teaching of God our Saviour.

¹¹ You see, God's grace has been revealed to save the whole human race;

¹² it has taught us that we should give up everything contrary to true religion and all our worldly passions; we must be self-restrained and live upright and religious lives in this present world,

¹³ waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ He offered himself for us in order to ransom us from all our faults and to purify a people to be his very own and eager to do good.

¹⁵ This is what you must say, encouraging or arguing with full authority; no one should despise you.