A priest shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or a woman who is not a virgin or who is divorced; he is holy.

He shall marry a virgin,

Otherwise, his children, who ought to be holy, will be ritually unclean. I am the LORD and I have set him apart as the High Priest."

No priest may marry a divorced woman; he is to marry only an Israelite virgin or the widow of another priest.

During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife's name was Elizabeth; she also belonged to a priestly family.

In the same way instruct the older women to behave as women should who live a holy life. They must not be slanderers or slaves to wine. They must teach what is good,

and who do not slander others. They do no wrong to their friends nor spread rumors about their neighbors.

You are ready to accuse your own relatives and to find fault with them.

I will get rid of anyone who whispers evil things about someone else; I will not tolerate anyone who is proud and arrogant.

Anyone who hides hatred is a liar. Anyone who spreads gossip is a fool.

A reliable messenger is refreshing to the one who sends him, like cold water in the heat of harvest time.

Everyone must be on guard against their friends, and no one can trust their relatives; for all relatives are as deceitful as Jacob, and everyone slanders their friends.

Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil.

Jesus replied, "I chose the twelve of you, didn't I? Yet one of you is a devil!"

they will be unkind, merciless, slanderers, violent, and fierce; they will hate the good;

In the same way instruct the older women to behave as women should who live a holy life. They must not be slanderers or slaves to wine. They must teach what is good,

The huge dragon was thrown out---that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven.

A church leader must be without fault; he must have only one wife, be sober, self-controlled, and orderly; he must welcome strangers in his home; he must be able to teach;

So then, we should not be sleeping like the others; we should be awake and sober.

But we belong to the day, and we should be sober. We must wear faith and love as a breastplate, and our hope of salvation as a helmet.

But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances; endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the Good News, and perform your whole duty as a servant of God.

Tell them not to speak evil of anyone, but to be peaceful and friendly, and always to show a gentle attitude toward everyone.

Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for my work. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him,

Slaves belonging to Christian masters must not despise them, for they are believers too. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their work are believers whom they love. You must teach and preach these things.