5:21a

I solemnly charge you: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I solemnly charge you means that Paul was commanding Timothy to do something very important.

before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels: Paul added this phrase to emphasize that what he was commanding Timothy to do was very important indeed. He was implying that God, Jesus and even the angels would witness whether Timothy obeyed Paul or not.

Christ Jesus: Notice that in this verse Paul referred to Jesus as Christ Jesus instead of “Jesus Christ.” The names “Christ Jesus” and “Jesus Christ” refer to the same person. (Some people, however, think that when Paul used the word Christ before the word Jesus, as in Christ Jesus, he was emphasizing that Jesus was the Messiah.)

In most English versions “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus” are translated in the same order as they occur in the Greek manuscripts. It is recommended that you do the same thing.

However, it is possible that, in some languages, people may be confused to see the names in two different orders. They may even think that Paul was referring to two different people. If this is true in your language, it may be necessary to translate Christ Jesus as “Jesus Christ.” This is the more usual word order in the New Testament.

Christ: The word Christ is used two ways in the New Testament. In the Gospels, Christ is a title for Jesus. It means “the anointed one.” But later, by the time that Paul and others wrote letters to individuals and churches, the word Christ was used as another name for Jesus. It was no longer used as a title. So here and in other New Testament letters you should spell Christ according to the rules of your language.

the elect angels: Paul referred to the angels here by a word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as elect. This word indicates here that God had chosen the angels.

angels: In this context, the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angels refers to “a supernatural, spiritual being who is a messenger from God.” See the note on 3:16d.

5:21b

maintain these principles: That is, follow or obey these instructions.

these principles: The phrase these principles refers to what Paul told Timothy to do in 5:19–20, which was to rebuke elders who had sinned. (Arichea and Hatton, page 130, say, “…verse 21 is better interpreted as looking back than forward. For one thing, the instructions that follow verse 21 seem to be less serious than the subject matter of the preceding verses. For another thing, verses 17–20 deal with one subject matter, whereas verses 22–25 deal with a combination of topics without any apparent unity.”)

without bias: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as without bias means to do something without being biased for or against a person. Timothy was to treat every elder the same way.

5:21c

do nothing out of partiality: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as out of partiality is similar in meaning to the phrase “without bias” in 5:21b. Timothy was to treat every elder the same. It should not matter whether or not the elder was a good friend, or wealthy, or powerful, or popular.

General Comment on 5:21b–c

The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “bias” and “partiality” mean almost the same thing. Paul probably used both words to emphasize what he was saying. In some languages, there may not be two such similar words. If this is true in your language, you may say something like:

Do not discriminate in any way.
-or-
Be completely fair/just in the way you treat people.

© 2003 by SIL International®

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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.