4:12a

Let no one despise your youth: People who lived when Paul did normally expected spiritual leaders to be older than Timothy was. Therefore, some people thought that he was too young to teach them so they didn’t want to obey him.

The form of the Greek verb is a third-person command. It could better be expressed in English as “May no one look down on you.” Paul was telling Timothy that he should behave in ways that made him deserve respect. Then people would respect him and not look down on him. The next verses told Timothy how to do this. Use a form of the verb in your language that will best fit this context.

despise: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as despise means “regard as worthless,” “show disrespect to,” or “regard as inferior.”

youth: Timothy was probably between thirty and forty years old when Paul wrote this letter. Try to use a word for youth that includes Timothy’s age group. In some cultures, people do not consider a man of this age group a youth. If this is true in your area, you may need to state that some people thought that Timothy was too young to teach them.

4:12b

set an example: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as example means a “model” or “pattern.” Paul wanted Timothy to behave in a way that other believers could copy. If he did that, people would respect him and would listen to what he taught them, even though they considered him young.

an example: In some languages there is no noun that means example. In such languages it may be possible to use a verb like “demonstrate” or “show.” For example:

Instead, show the other believers how to behave as God wants them to.

4:12c–d

Paul wanted Timothy to be an example to the other believers in the way he behaved. In the rest of this verse Paul listed five ways in which Timothy was to be an example. (Some translations, such as the King James Version, add a sixth way, the words “in spirit”, after “in faith” in 4:10d. However, the oldest and best Greek texts that Bible scholars know about do not have the words “in spirit” here. That is why most modern translations do not include this phrase.)

4:12c

in speech: This is the first way in which Timothy was to be an example. Paul meant that Timothy should be careful that everything he said was true, kind, and helpful to others. He should avoid lying or gossiping.

in conduct: This is the second way in which Timothy was to be an example to the other believers. Paul meant that Timothy should behave in a way that pleased God and that others could imitate. Other believers should not have any reason to criticize him for his behavior.

4:12d

in love: This is the third way in which Timothy was to be an example to the other believers. Paul meant that Timothy should be an example to other people by loving them. Here Paul was probably referring to loving people more than to loving God. So if you need to use a verb here with an object, you should say:

in the way you love other people

in faith: This is the fourth way in which Timothy was to be an example to the other believers. Paul told Timothy to be an example to other people in faith. He meant that Timothy should be an example in the way he trusted in God.

in purity: This is the fifth and final way in which Timothy was to be an example to the other believers. Paul meant that Timothy was always to behave in a pure way. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as purity often refers to avoiding sexual sin in particular. However in this context, it probably refers to avoiding any kind of sin, including sexual sin.

General Comment on 4:12b–d

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder this verse. For example, you could begin with the list of the ways in which Timothy should be an example. Here is one way to do that:

^12cspeak what is right, behave in a way that pleases God, ^12dlove other people, trust in God, and behave in a blameless way. ^12bThen you will be an example to the other believers.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.