2:5a
to be self-controlled: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as self-controlled refers to someone who is thoughtful about how they act, is not impulsive and avoids extremes. See how you translated it in 1:8c and 2:2a. Try to translate it in the same way in all three places.
pure: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pure means “ritually clean, free from contamination.” In this context it means moral purity, especially sexual purity. Paul was describing wives and mothers, so in this context it does not refer to celibacy (no sexual activity) but to faithfulness in marriage. It describes virtuous wives, that is, women who refrain from all sexual activity outside of their marriage.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
morally pure (God’s Word)
or
chaste (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
virtuous women
2:5b
managers of their households: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as managers of their households describes a woman who works hard at home and manages the household well. She takes care of the needs of her family and fulfills all her responsibilities in her home.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
to be homemakers (God’s Word)
-or-
good managers of their household (New Revised Standard Version)
or
fulfilling their duties at home (NET Bible)
kind: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as kind can also be translated as “good.” There are two ways to understand this word in this context:
(1) It refers to a separate quality, that of goodness in the sense of kindness. For example:
to be kind (God’s Word)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), NET Bible, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, God’s Word, King James Version)
(2) It modifies the preceding quality in the list. For example:
to be good housewives (Good News Bible)
(Good News Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition)
It is recommended that you follow option (1) as do the great majority of English versions.
2:5c
submissive to their own husbands: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as submissive to describes someone who accepts the authority of someone else and takes a position subordinate to (under) that person. In the context of a marriage relationship, it can be understood as an attitude of respect, cooperation, and a willingness to serve. Try to use an expression that is natural in your language for an admirable attitude in married women.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
to be subject to their husbands (New International Version (2011 Revision))
or
respecting the authority of their husbands (Revised English Bible)
-or-
accepting the authority/leadership of their husbands
-or-
to place themselves under their husbands’ authority (God’s Word)
their own husbands: The women were not to be subject to all men but only to their own husbands in their own families.
2:5d
so that: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that here introduces a purpose clause. Paul gives his purpose in saying what he had just said about how younger women should behave. Paul’s purpose in giving these instructions was that no one would be able to speak evil of God’s gospel message.
the word of God will not be discredited: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as be discredited means “to speak evil of.” If believing women did not behave in the way Paul described, people would likely blame their Christian faith and say bad things about the gospel message.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
no one will malign the word of God (New International Version (2011 Revision))
-or-
no one can speak evil of God’s word (God’s Word)
or
no one can say insulting things about God’s message (Contemporary English Version)
the word of God: This phrase refers to the message that God gave Paul to preach and teach to the nations.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the message of God (NET Bible)
or
the teaching that God gave us
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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.