1 Timothy 5

The TorahRooted Bible (TRB), translated directly from the Hebrew and Greek.

Older and younger

¹ Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as a father, the younger men as brothers, ² the older women as mothers, the younger women as sisters, with all purity.

Widows

³ Honor widows who are truly widows. ⁴ But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness toward their own household and to repay their parents; for this is acceptable before Elohim. ⁵ Now she who is truly a widow, and left alone, trusts in Elohim and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. ⁶ But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. ⁷ And command these things, that they may be blameless. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled who is not under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, ¹⁰ well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work. ¹¹ But refuse the younger widows; for when they have grown restless against the Messiah, they desire to marry, ¹² having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith. ¹³ And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. ¹⁴ Therefore I desire that the younger women marry, bear children, manage the house, and give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. ¹⁵ For some have already turned aside after Satan. ¹⁶ If any believing man or believing woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the assembly be burdened, so that it may relieve those who are truly widows.

Elders

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle the ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." ¹⁹ Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the word of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. ²¹ I solemnly charge you before Elohim and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. ²² Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure. ²³ No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. ²⁴ Some men's sins are clearly evident, going before them to judgment, but those of some men follow after them. ²⁵ Likewise, the good works also are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

Notes

• 5:3 The Torah placed the widow under Elohim's own care: "You shall not afflict any widow or orphan" (Exodus 22:22); Yahweh "executes justice for the fatherless and the widow" (Deuteronomy 10:18), and the tithe of the third year was shared with them (Deuteronomy 14:29). The assembly in Jerusalem served its widows daily (Acts 6:1). "Honor" here includes support, as Yeshua taught that honoring father and mother meant providing for them (Matthew 15:4-6), and as Paul speaks of "double honor" for elders (verse 17).
• 5:16 Paul describes a recognized list of widows supported by the assembly, who in turn devoted themselves to prayer and good works, like Anna, the widow who "served with fastings and prayers night and day" (Luke 2:37). Families were to care for their own first (verses 4, 8, 16). "Their first faith" (verse 12) may refer to a pledge made when a widow was enrolled. In verse 16 the Majority Text, which the TRB follows, reads "any believing man or believing woman"; many modern Bibles, following some early manuscripts, read only "any believing woman."
• 5:18 Paul quotes the Torah, "You shall not muzzle the ox while it treads out the grain" (Deuteronomy 25:4), as he does in 1 Corinthians 9:9, and then words Yeshua spoke when He sent out the seventy, "the laborer is worthy of his wages" (Luke 10:7). Some read "the Scripture says" as covering both sayings, others only the first, with the second a saying of the Lord the assemblies already knew (1 Corinthians 9:14). The Torah itself guarded the worker's pay: "The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until morning" (Leviticus 19:13).
• 5:19 Paul applies the Torah's rule for every judgment: "by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established" (Deuteronomy 19:15), as Yeshua did for disputes among His disciples (Matthew 18:16). The rule protects leaders from careless or hostile charges, while verse 20 keeps them under correction: an elder who goes on sinning is rebuked openly, "that the rest also may fear," words that echo the Torah's own reason for public justice (Deuteronomy 19:20).
• 5:23 Wine was a normal part of meals in Israel, "wine that gladdens the heart of man" (Psalm 104:15), and it was also used as medicine, as in the parable of the man who poured "oil and wine" on the wounded traveler's wounds (Luke 10:34). Timothy seems to have drunk only water, perhaps to avoid any appearance of the excess Paul warns against (3:3, 8) or under the pressure of teachers who forbade good things (4:3); Paul tells him to care for his health.

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