3:5a
For if someone does not know how to manage his own household: This repeats the expression from 3:4a and you should translate it in the same way.
3:5b
care for: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as care for has, in this context, a similar meaning to the word translated “manage” in 3:4a and 3:5a. Try to find a term that refers to caring for a group of people.
the church of God: That is, the church that belongs to God.
church: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as church does not refer to a church building, but to all true believers. Together they form the assembly or community of God’s people. Avoid using a term that might suggest that Paul was referring to a building. Some ways of translating the term church are:
the assembly of God’s people
-or-
the community of God’s people
-or-
God’s family
-or-
God’s people
See also the notes on 3:15c and 5:16c.
General Comment on 3:5a–b
This verse is a rhetorical question. In this context, Paul used the rhetorical question to emphasize that a man who was unable to manage his own family would certainly be unable to care for God’s people. If you do not use rhetorical questions in this way in your language, you should use a statement instead. For example, you could say:
Someone who is not able to manage his own family will certainly not be able to care for God’s church.
Some English versions use parentheses round this verse to indicate that this verse digresses from the main point of the paragraph. You should show that this is a digression in the way that is most natural in your language.
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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.
