1.Timotheus 5 | New International Reader’s Version

Instructions about widows, elders and slaves

1 Correct an older man in a way that shows respect. Make an appeal to him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as if they were your brothers. 2 Treat older women as if they were your mothers. Treat younger women as if they were your sisters. Be completely pure in the way you treat them. 3 Take care of the widows who really need help. 4 But suppose a widow has children or grandchildren. They should first learn to put their faith into practice. They should care for their own family. In that way they will pay back their parents and grandparents. That pleases God. 5 A widow who really needs help and is left all alone puts her hope in God. Night and day she keeps on praying. Night and day she asks God for help. 6 But a widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still living. 7 Give these instructions to the people. Then no one can be blamed. 8 Everyone should provide for their own relatives. Most of all, everyone should take care of their own family. If they don’t, they have left the faith. They are worse than someone who doesn’t believe. 9 No widow should be put on the list of widows unless she is more than 60 years old. She must also have been faithful to her husband. 10 She must be well known for the good things she does. That includes bringing up children. It includes inviting guests into her home. It includes washing the feet of the Lord’s people. It includes helping those who are in trouble. A widow should spend her time doing all kinds of good things. 11 Don’t put younger widows on that kind of list. They might want pleasure more than they want Christ. Then they would want to get married again. 12 If they do that, they will be judged. They have broken their first promise. 13 Besides, they get into the habit of having nothing to do. They go around from house to house. They waste their time. They also bother other people and say things that make no sense. They shouldn’t say those things. 14 So here is the advice I give to younger widows. Get married. Have children. Take care of your own homes. Don’t give the enemy the chance to tell lies about you. 15 In fact, some have already turned away to follow Satan. 16 Suppose a woman is a believer and takes care of widows. She should continue to help them. She shouldn’t let the church pay the expenses. Then the church can help the widows who really need it. 17 The elders who do the church’s work well are worth twice as much honour. That is true in a special way of elders who preach and teach. 18 Scripture says, ‘Do not stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the corn from the straw.’ Scripture also says, ‘Workers are worthy of their pay.’ 19 Don’t believe a charge against an elder unless two or three witnesses bring it. 20 But those elders who are sinning should be corrected in front of everyone. This will be a warning to the others. 21 I command you to follow these instructions. I command you in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the chosen angels. Treat everyone the same. Don’t favour one person over another. 22 Don’t be too quick to place your hands on others to set them apart to serve God. Don’t take part in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. 23 Stop drinking only water. If your stomach is upset, drink a little wine. It can also help the other diseases you often have. 24 The sins of some people are easy to see. They are already being judged. Others will be judged later. 25 In the same way, good works are easy to see. But even good works that are hard to see can’t stay hidden for ever.

English Standard Version

Instructions for the Church

1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. 3 Honor widows who are truly widows. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. 5 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, 6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. 7 Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 9 Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband,* 10 and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. 11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry 12 and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. 13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. 14 So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. 15 For some have already strayed after Satan. 16 If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are truly widows. 17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

1.Timotheus 5 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version

Instructions about widows, elders and slaves

Instructions for the Church