Irenaeus of Lyons · a new plain-English translation from the original language
But as for those regarded by many as elders, who nonetheless indulge their own desires and do not place reverence for God above everything in their hearts, but hold the rest in contempt, and swell up with conceit at occupying the leading seat, and commit wrongdoing behind closed doors, telling themselves "No one is watching" — these will be exposed by the Word, who judges not by outward appearance nor by looking at the face, but examines the heart; and they will hear the very sentence pronounced through the prophet Daniel: "Offspring not of Judah but of Canaan, loveliness has led you astray, and craving has twisted your heart. You who have grown decrepit in wickedness, the misdeeds you committed long ago have now overtaken you, handing down crooked verdicts, clearing the guilty and condemning the innocent," even though the Lord commands, "You shall not put to death the innocent and the righteous." Concerning such men the Lord likewise stated: "But should that wicked servant think within himself, 'My master is slow in coming,' and take to striking the male and female servants, and to eating and drinking and getting drunk, that servant's master will arrive on a day he is not looking for and at an hour unknown to him, and will cut him apart and give him his share among the faithless." One must therefore steer clear of all such people, and instead hold fast to those who, as already stated, keep watch over what the Apostles taught, and who together with the rank of elder display sound teaching and conduct free of reproach, for instructing and setting straight everyone else.
Just as Moses, entrusted with so weighty a charge, standing on a clear conscience, vindicated himself before God, saying, "I have not desired even a single thing belonging to any of them, nor done wrong to a single one of them." So too Samuel, having governed the people across so many years and led Israel free of any haughtiness, vindicated himself at the close, saying, "I have gone about among you from my early years until this day; testify against me now, in front of the Lord and his Anointed: whose ox or whose ass have I taken, whom have I wronged, from whose hand have I accepted a payoff, even so much as a sandal? Accuse me, and I will pay it back to you." And when the people answered, "You have not wronged us nor taken a thing from anyone's hand," he summoned the Lord as witness, declaring, "The Lord stands witness, and so does his Anointed, on this day, that you have found nothing at all in my possession." And they told him, "He stands witness." So too the Apostle Paul, holding a clear conscience, wrote to the Corinthians: "For we are not, like the many, peddling God's word for profit, but speaking with sincerity, as men sent from God, in the sight of God, in Christ; we have injured no one, ruined no one, exploited no one." Elders of this kind the Church raises up, concerning whom the prophet also declares: "I will appoint your leaders in peace and your overseers in justice." Of these the Lord likewise said: "Who, then, is the trustworthy and prudent servant whom his master will place in charge of his household, to distribute their food at the proper time? Fortunate is that servant whom his master finds so occupied when he arrives."