From the family, attention is now focused on the person’s own faith experience. He must not be a recent convert. The Greek word is the source of the English word “neophyte”; literally it means “newly planted” and is used here figuratively to refer to new believers. Good News Translation captures the meaning in a positive manner, “he must be mature in the faith,” and one may also express this as “he must have believed in Jesus for a long time,” or “he must have been a Christian for a long time,” or even “he must believe strongly in Jesus.” However, in many languages Revised Standard Version‘s model will be the more natural way to translate this clause; for example, “he must not be a person who has only recently believed in Jesus.” The danger of being a recent convert is that he may fall into the temptation of being puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. The word translated puffed up comes from a root word that means “smoke,” hence the suggestion that puffed up with conceit could be translated “in a cloud land of conceit.” If such a figurative expression does not occur in the receptor language, another metaphor could be substituted, as, for example, Good News Translation “swell up with pride,” “have a heart full of pride,” or “have a very high heart.” If no equivalent metaphor exists, then as a last resort the meaning of the metaphor can be translated, for example, as “become arrogantly proud.”
The expression the condemnation of the devil can be taken to refer to the judgment executed by the devil, in which case it is connected with the following verse, which mentions the snare of the devil. Most commentaries and translations, however, understand the construction as an objective genitive, which means that the devil is the receiver rather than the doer of the action, hence, the judgment that was meted out to the devil, a meaning that is made clear in Good News Translation, “be condemned, as the Devil was.” The agent in this case is God, and this information can be made explicit in the translation if so desired; for example, “and have God condemn (or, punish) him as he [God] condemned the Devil” (see 1.20 for comments on the devil or “Satan”). It is not at all clear what judgment the verse is referring to; some commentators suggest that this reflects a common theme in the New Testament writings, namely, that in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Devil suffered a decisive defeat that will be finalized at the end time (see, for example, Matt 25.41; Luke 10.18; Rev 20.10).
A final qualification of the candidate for the episcopal office is that he must be well thought of by outsiders. Outsiders are most probably non-Christians, hence Good News Translation “people outside the church.” The conduct of the bishop should be such that even those who do not belong to the believing community cannot help but be impressed by his irreproachable behavior. Many languages will restructure this clause; for example, “Also people who do not believe in Jesus should respect (or, think well of) him,” or even idiomatically as in many Asian languages, “he should have much face before those who are outsiders (or, do not believe in Jesus).” If this is not the case, it is likely that he will fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. The reproach would come from the outsiders who would say terrible things against the church leader, perhaps accusing him of hypocrisy. Fall into reproach may also be rendered as “so that people who do not believe will not say evil things about him,” or following Good News Translation‘s model, “he will not lose face (or, be disgraced) before….” The expression the snare of the devil is similar in construction to that of “the condemnation of the devil” in the previous verse and is likewise ambiguous. Taken as an objective genitive it refers to the trap that is meant to catch the Devil. More likely, however, it should be taken as a subjective genitive, referring to the trap that the Devil has laid for the arrogant and boastful. A literal translation will of course retain the ambiguity. Those translations that resolve the ambiguity show preference for the latter interpretation; for example, Good News Translation “fall into the Devil’s trap,” or Revised English Bible “be caught in the devil’s snare.” One may also translate “the Devil won’t be able to trap him,” “and have the Devil trap him,” or “have the Devil as it were catch him in a trap.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• He must have believed in Jesus for a long time so that he will not have a heart full of pride and have God condemn (or, punish) him as he [God] condemned the Devil. People outside the church (or, who do not believe in Jesus) should respect him. Then they will not say evil things about him (or, make him lose face), and the Devil won’t be able to trap him.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .