1 Timothy 5

Do not speak harshly to an older man. Instead, appeal to him the way you would to your own father. Treat younger men as brothers.

1Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

NoteThe Greek word behind "elder" here means simply an older man, and that is its sense in verses 1 and 2, where it is paired with "the younger men" and "the elder women." From verse 17 on, the same word carries its other sense: an elder, a recognized officer of the congregation. English "elder" happens to hold both meanings, just as the Greek does. "Intreat" in 1611 means to appeal to or urge, not to beg.

2Treat older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with complete purity.

2The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

3Show honor to widows who are truly widows, with no one else to support them.

3Honour widows that are widows indeed.

Note"Honour" here is not only a matter of respect. It covers material support as well, which is why the rest of the chapter goes on to talk about who pays for whom, and why the elders of verse 17 are "worthy of double honour" alongside a quotation about wages. "Widows indeed" means widows who really are widows in the sense that matters here: women with no family left to provide for them.

4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, those family members should first learn to put their faith into practice at home by paying back what they owe their parents and grandparents. This pleases God.

4But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

Note"Nephews" in 1611 English meant grandchildren or descendants generally, from the Latin nepos. It did not mean a brother's or sister's son, the only sense the word now has. "Requite" means repay. The point is that support flows back down the family line to the parents and grandparents who raised them.

5The woman who is truly a widow, left all alone, puts her hope in God. She keeps on asking him for help and praying, night and day.

5Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

Note"Desolate" in 1611 means left alone, without family or resources, not sad. "Supplications" are requests for help; the pairing with "prayers" is a stock phrase for persistent petitioning rather than two distinct activities.

6But the widow who lives only for her own pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.

6But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

7Give these instructions to the people, so that no one can find fault with them.

7And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

8If anyone does not provide for his own relatives, and especially for the people in his own household, he has turned his back on the faith. He is worse than someone who does not believe at all.

8But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Note"Infidel" in 1611 simply meant someone who does not hold the faith, an unbeliever. It carried none of the hostile or specifically anti-Muslim edge the word picked up later. "His own" and "those of his own house" distinguish the wider kin from the household proper, which in the ancient world included dependents and slaves as well as blood relatives.

9Do not put a widow on the list of supported widows unless she is at least sixty years old and has been the wife of one man.

9Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,

Note"Threescore" is sixty; a score is twenty. "Taken into the number" means enrolled on an official register: the congregation kept a list of widows it supported financially, and probably one that carried duties in return, which is why age and track record are screened. "Having been the wife of one man" translates a phrase that literally reads "a one-man woman." It is genuinely disputed whether it means she never remarried after being widowed, or that she was faithful to her husband while he lived. The Greek does not settle it.

10She must also be known for doing good: raising children, welcoming strangers into her home, washing the feet of God's people, helping those in trouble, and giving herself to every kind of good work.

10Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

NoteWashing feet was the ordinary courtesy owed to a guest who had walked dusty roads in sandals, and it was work normally done by a servant or the lowest member of a household. "Saints" in the New Testament does not mean specially holy individuals singled out for the title; it is the standard word for the members of the congregation, all of them. "Lodged strangers" means taking travelers into her home, in a world with few inns and dangerous ones.

11But do not put younger widows on the list. When their desires pull them away from Christ, they want to marry.

11But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;

Note"Wax wanton" means to grow restless under physical desire; "wax" is an old verb meaning to grow or become. The objection is not to marriage in itself, which verse 14 recommends, but to enrolling on the supported list a woman likely to leave it.

12So they bring judgment on themselves, because they have set aside the promise of faith they made at first.

12Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.

Note"Damnation" in 1611 meant a verdict of condemnation or a judgment passed, without the specifically eternal, hellish sense the word now carries. "Their first faith" most likely refers to a pledge given when a widow was enrolled, a commitment the writer treats as broken if she then marries, though the Greek phrase is compressed and the exact undertaking is not spelled out.

13Along with that, they get into the habit of doing nothing useful, going from house to house. And they are not only idle. They also spread gossip and meddle in other people's business, saying things they should not say.

13And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

Note"Tattlers" means gossips and "busybodies" means people who involve themselves in affairs that are not theirs. The house-to-house detail matters: enrolled widows moved among the congregation's homes, so idle talk could travel fast and far.

14So my advice is that younger widows marry, have children, and manage their households. Then they will give our opponent no occasion to speak with reproach.

14I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

Note"Guide the house" translates a verb meaning to run a household as its manager, a substantial job in an ancient home with dependents, stores and servants, not a euphemism for staying out of the way. "The adversary" is ambiguous in the Greek: it can mean a human opponent or critic of the congregation, or Satan, who is named outright in the next verse. "Reproachfully" means in a way that brings disgrace.

15I say this because some have already turned away and followed Satan.

15For some are already turned aside after Satan.

16If any believing man or woman has widows in the family, that person should take care of them. The church should not be burdened with them, so that it can support the widows who are truly alone.

16If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

NoteThe Greek manuscripts differ here. The earliest read "if any believing woman has widows"; later ones, which the King James translators followed, add "man." "Have widows" means has widowed relatives dependent on her. "Charged" means burdened with the expense, not accused.

17Elders who lead the church well should be considered worthy of double honor. This is especially true of those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

17Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Note"Rule" here translates a verb meaning to preside over or lead. "Double honour" is deliberately open: it may mean honor plus payment, or simply generous honor, and the quotations about the ox and the worker's wages in the next verse pull it toward money. "Labour in the word and doctrine" means working hard at preaching and teaching; "doctrine" in 1611 means teaching, the activity as much as its content.

18For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." It also says, "The worker deserves his pay."

18For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Note"Corn" in 1611 English means grain of any kind, not maize. Grain was threshed by driving oxen over the cut stalks on a hard floor to break the kernels loose; muzzling the ox stopped it snatching mouthfuls as it worked. The first quotation is Deuteronomy 25:4. The second matches a saying of Jesus recorded at Luke 10:7, and calling it "scripture" is notable because it puts that saying alongside the law of Moses.

19Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless two or three witnesses back it up.

19Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

NoteThis applies the old rule of Deuteronomy 19:15, that a charge stands only on the testimony of two or three witnesses, to accusations against a congregation's elders. "Receive not an accusation" means do not entertain the charge or let the hearing proceed.

20Those who keep on sinning should be corrected in front of everyone, so that the rest will be afraid to do the same.

20Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

21In the presence of God, and of Christ Jesus, and of the chosen angels, I solemnly charge you to follow these instructions without deciding anything in advance. Show no favoritism.

21I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

Note"I charge thee before" is the language of a solemn oath, calling named witnesses to the undertaking. "The elect angels" means the chosen angels; the phrase appears nowhere else in the New Testament and is not explained. "Without preferring one before another" translates a word meaning prejudgment, deciding the case before hearing it, and "partiality" means leaning toward one side.

22Do not be quick to lay your hands on anyone, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

22Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

Note"Lay hands on" is not violence. Placing hands on someone's head was the formal gesture of appointing a person to an office or commissioning them, so the instruction is against appointing anyone hastily; "suddenly" in 1611 means quickly or without due delay. Some read it instead as restoring a disciplined member to fellowship, which used the same gesture. "Partaker of other men's sins" means sharing responsibility for what the person you appointed goes on to do.

23Stop drinking only water. Use a little wine because of your stomach and because you are sick so often.

23Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

NoteThis is medical advice, not a general rule about drink. Drinking water in the ancient Mediterranean was often risky, and wine, normally diluted, was the standard remedy for stomach trouble. "Infirmities" means bodily ailments or weaknesses, not moral failings. The Greek says to stop drinking water only, not to stop drinking water.

24The sins of some people are out in the open, and they arrive at the judgment ahead of them. The sins of others only show up later.

24Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.

NoteThe image is of a court: some people's offenses go on ahead of them, arriving at the bench before the defendant does, so the verdict is settled in advance; other people's trail behind and only catch up at the hearing.

25In the same way, the good deeds of some people are plain to see. And even the good deeds that are not obvious cannot stay hidden.

25Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.