This verse goes back to the children and grandchildren referred to in verse 4. There they are told that it is their religious duty to support the members of their family; here they are told of the consequences of their failure to give such support.

As indicated in the discussion of verse 7, Good News Translation starts this verse with “But” to indicate that this is not part of the “instructions” referred to there.

Provide can be understood in a generic way, that is, “to look after” (Jerusalem Bible), “to take care of,” in other words, to take a long-term responsibility for someone. Many translations understand it in a more specific sense in the present context, that is, providing for material needs. The first interpretation is probably the correct one, and Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation seem to agree.

His relatives is literally “one’s own,” but since what follows is a specific segment of “one’s own,” that is, his own family (literally “household”), then “one’s own” must be understood to refer to relatives in general; this in fact is what most translations have opted for. Taking care of relatives must of course start from one’s own family, and this is what is being emphasized in this verse.

Failure to fulfill these obligations will mean that a person has disowned the faith. Disowned translates a verb with a wide range of meaning, but the primary meaning is to deny or disavow any relationship with someone or something; this denial is indicated either by words or by actions, or both. So here, what it means is that people who do not take care of their families are regarded as if they have disowned their faith. Other ways of expressing this are “stopped believing in Christ,” “abandoned Christ,” “given up his faith in Christ,” or figuratively, “turned his back on the Christian teachings.”

For the faith see 1.2.

The word for unbeliever is used frequently in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians; it describes a person who does not trust Christ or perhaps refuses to acknowledge Christ as Lord, hence a non-Christian. It is often said that there is nothing worse than an unbeliever. But here we are told that there is something worse than an unbeliever, and that is a person who does not fulfill his religious duties to the members of his household.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• If anyone does not take care of his relatives, especially the members of his own family, he has turned his back on the Christian teachings (or, the Christian faith) and is worse than someone who does not believe in Christ at all.

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 .