3:7a

Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders: Paul meant that even those who are not believers must think well of a person who becomes an overseer.

outsiders: When Paul referred to outsiders, he was referring to those who were not believers.

3:7b

so that he will not fall into disgrace: This gives the reason that an overseer must have a good reputation. If he does not, he will fall into disgrace. This means that those who are not believers will have good reasons to criticize and accuse him. Because he is a leader among the believers, they may also say the same things about other believers.

3:7c

and into the snare of the devil: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “fall” in 3:7b is implicit in this part of the verse. However, in some languages it may be better to say:

and be trapped by the devil

When Paul talked about falling into a snare, he was using a metaphor. He was saying that an overseer who has a bad reputation is like an animal that has been caught in a trap. He cannot easily escape and so can no longer do the work that God has given him to do.

the snare of the devil: Paul was referring to the snare that the devil sets for people when he tempts them. Just as people set traps to catch animals, the devil sets traps to tempt people to become proud or sin in other ways.

© 2003 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.