Chapter 2

Thine is to be a different message, with sound doctrine for its rule.

Teach the older men to be sober, decent, orderly, soundly established in faith, in charity, in patience.

The older women, too, must carry themselves as befits a holy calling, not given to slanderous talk or enslaved to drunken habits; teaching others by their good example.

From them the younger women must learn orderly behaviour, how to treat their husbands and their children lovingly,

how to be discreet, modest, and sober, busy about the house, kindly, submissive to their own husbands; the preaching of God’s word must not be brought into disrepute.

Encourage the young men, too, to live orderly lives.

Let them find in all thou doest the model of a life nobly lived; let them find thee disinterested in thy teaching, worthy of their respect,

thy doctrine sound beyond all cavil; so that our adversaries may blush to find that they have no opportunity for speaking ill of us.

Slaves must be submissive to their own masters, so as to content them in every way; no arguing,

no pilfering; they must give good proof of utter fidelity, every action of theirs bringing credit to the teaching which God, our Saviour, has revealed.

The grace of God, our Saviour, has dawned on all men alike,

schooling us to forgo irreverent thoughts and worldly appetites, and to live, in this present world, a life of order, of justice, and of holiness.

We were to look forward, blessed in our hope, to the day when there will be a new dawn of glory, the glory of the great God, the glory of our Saviour Jesus Christ;

who gave himself for us, to ransom us from all our guilt, a people set apart for himself, ambitious of noble deeds.

Be this thy message, lending all authority to thy encouragement and thy reproof. Let no man lightly esteem thee.