I desire seems to denote the apostolic authority of Paul; the intention is to issue an order, but to do it bluntly would be to violate the cultural standards of politeness. It would not be out of place for Paul of course to give a direct command to Timothy, but these passages are in fact addressed not only to him but to the whole Christian community. It may be necessary in translation to ensure that this component of command is understood, without of course violating the standards of politeness in the receptor culture. In some cultures the politeness will be achieved by saying, for example, “I earnestly request that,” or “I ask that,” or even “I humbly entreat you.”

The context of this verse is the same as verse 1, that is, the community gathered for worship; that is probably what in every place is referring to; hence Good News Translation “in every church service.” Other ways of saying this are “whenever the believers meet together to worship God,” “whenever the Christians worship,” or “whenever you [the Christians] meet to worship God.” It is possible, though not very likely, to take “in every place” to mean “everywhere” (New International Version), that is, in all the Christian churches. At that time Christians in Ephesus probably had their worship in homes, but they could have met somewhere else on certain occasions. In view of this it is preferable to use a term for worship that does not refer exclusively to a formal worship service inside a church. Or one may translate in a general way, as, for example, “When you come together to worship God….”

The word for men is the exclusive word for males, which means that this is addressed specifically to the male members of the church. It does appear from this verse that every adult male member can lead the congregation in worship or prayer. What is not clear is whether this was the exclusive right of men. In view of 2.12 it seems likely that the intention of this verse is to identify men as those who have the right to lead in worship, and to deny this right to women. However, since verse 8 does not say explicitly that only men can pray, it may be best to omit any information regarding the rights of women to lead in the worship service, or to imply here in any way that women should not lead.

The lifting of hands while praying was the usual posture of prayer among people of that day, both Jews and non-Jews (see, for example, Psa 141.2; 143.6). It is probable that the early Christians adopted this same posture in their worship services. This gesture is mentioned as a matter of fact, not as a part of the command to pray.

The expression holy hands is misleading and most probably unnatural in many languages. Here hands stands for the whole person; it is the person and not his hands that is holy. The word holy itself is often difficult to translate because it is used in a variety of ways, and traditional translations in many receptor languages have tended to stress the component of “forbidden” or “taboo.” In the present context holy seems to have both a spiritual and a moral sense. People are holy when they are set apart for God’s use, hence Good News Translation “men who are dedicated to God.” But people are also holy when they refrain from doing any kind of evil act and instead live lives that are acceptable to God. This ethical sense seems to be in focus here, since hands are connected to actions. If this is so, one may translate “men who live lives acceptable to God and lift up….”

Two of these actions that these men should refrain from are mentioned, namely, anger and quarreling. This may mean that these men have shown in their lives that they are not slaves to anger nor do they quarrel with others. It may also mean that, before these men join in the prayers, they should be cleansed, which probably means that they should confess any sins related to anger and quarreling and should receive God’s forgiveness. Some commentators note that these are two of the sins of the false teachers mentioned in 1.3; this is therefore both an appeal to the men not to imitate the false teachers, and a subtle denunciation of the false teachers themselves. Anger in many languages will be expressed in psychological terms; for example, “have a hot heart (or stomach, or liver).” Translators are urged to read A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, page 106, for a list of excellent examples of how a number of languages have translated anger idiomatically. It includes, for example, “to have a hot (or a split, or a cut) heart,” “fire of the viscera,” or “pain in the heart.” Quarreling here refers to arguing with others using words. It doesn’t mean that they were physically fighting.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Therefore, whenever you (or, the believers) meet together to worship God, I am requesting that the men pray. These must be men who live lives acceptable to God, and when they lift up their hands to pray, they must do so without having anger in their hearts or quarreling with others.

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 .

Practice is the positive equivalent of “Do not neglect” in the preceding verse. The word itself has the meaning “to attend to carefully,” “to put into practice” (so New Revised Standard Version), “to cultivate.” These duties is literally “these things” and most probably refers back to the immediately preceding verses, particularly verses 12-14. In certain languages it will be helpful to translate “Carefully put into practice the duties I have just mentioned.”

Devote yourself to them is literally “be in them,” with the meaning of being completely immersed or absorbed in these things. Appropriate equivalent idioms are “being up to his ears,” “being wrapped up,” “being immersed in,” or “throwing oneself into.” These two imperative verbs taken together make the command very emphatic.

The purpose of all this is so that all may see your progress (literally “your progress may be manifest [or, evident] to all”). All again refers to fellow Christians with whom Timothy has dealings. Progress includes the idea of advancement or furtherance; it is suggested by some that the word arose out of the practice of people cutting trees and shrubs in order to prepare the way for the advance of an incoming army. The progress being referred to here may refer to Timothy’s spiritual advancement in general (that is, his progress in the Christian life), or specifically to the development of the gifts and talents that are related to his function as a church leader.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Carefully put into practice and give yourself completely to (or, immerse yourself in) these duties I have just mentioned, so that everyone will see how you grow in your life as a Christian.

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 .

The section begins with Timothy being addressed directly with the term man of God, a term that was often used for prophets in the Old Testament (for example, 1 Sam 2.27), characterizing the prophet as one who belongs to God and who represents God. If it is used in this technical sense here, it would signal the role of Timothy as a prophet in addition to his other functions. It is possible, although less likely, that this is used not in a technical but in a general way as an appropriate address for any Christian worker or for any member of the church, for that matter. Other ways of expressing this initial phrase are “As for you, Timothy, you represent God,” or simply “Timothy, you are God’s representative (or, person).”

The first instruction to Timothy contains both negative and positive aspects. Negatively Timothy is urged to shun all this. Shun translates the present imperative of the verb “to flee,” which for some indicates that there is continuing action involved; it is not enough to flee from these things once, but to flee from them constantly, that is, over and over again. Both shun and “flee” are figurative language; what it really means is not to get involved in any way, to “avoid” (Good News Translation), to refrain from practicing. All this (Good News Translation “all these things”) refers to the evil practices and attitudes mentioned in the previous paragraph, particularly the preoccupation with material wealth, and in some languages one must translate “refrain from doing all these evil things.”

Positively Timothy is urged to aim at certain virtues. Aim at is literally “to pursue” (so New Revised Standard Version), to “strive for” (Good News Translation), “Try your best to” (Contemporary English Version). What follows are six virtues that are included in various lists of virtues in the New Testament. These six virtues can be viewed either as three pairs (righteousness-godliness, faith-love, steadfastness-gentleness) or as two groups of three, with the first three directed toward God, and the last three directed toward other people. In some languages it will be helpful to begin a new sentence here; for example, “On the contrary, you must set your heart to gain…” or “On the contrary, let your heart aim for….”

Righteousness does not refer primarily to the act of God in restoring people to a right relationship with God, but to the kind of life and conduct that God expects and requires of those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ; hence uprightness, “integrity” (Phillips), “faithful” (Contemporary English Version).

Godliness is translated elsewhere in the letter as “religion”; here it refers primarily to Christian piety, that is, to a way of life that is acceptable to God and in accord with the precepts of the Christian faith.

Faith is not the initial act of trusting in God or in Christ but is a result of that initial act of trust. It can mean “faithfulness” (Phillips; so also New English Bible “fidelity”) that is directed to God; it can also mean moving from one degree of faith to another; hence, to trust Christ more and more.

Love here focuses on the horizontal rather than the vertical dimension, that is, it is directed primarily toward other people rather than to God.

Steadfastness (Good News Translation “endurance”) is the same word that is sometimes translated “patience,” but the focus here is the ability to hold on, to persevere in the faith, not to give up, but to be always full of hope even though all the signs tend to indicate otherwise. This virtue is particularly important when there are various trials and temptations faced by the Christian community. So in certain languages it will be necessary to translate steadfastness as “the ability to endure,” or even idiomatically, for example, as “have a heart (or, liver) that endures” or “have a big heart.”

Finally, gentleness has two components of meaning; it can mean “meekness” or “humility”; but it can also mean gentleness, that is, the quality of not being harsh or cruel in dealing with others, or positively treating others in a kind and considerate manner. The word occurs only here in the New Testament, although words from the same root are used elsewhere (for example, see “meek” in Matt 5.5 and “gentle” in 11.29). A basic component of the meaning of this word is “discipline,” referring to the disciplined training for a particular task or responsibility. In many languages it will be necessary to express these virtues with verbal expressions.

An alternative translation model is the following:
• But as for you, Timothy, you are God’s representative (or, person). So you must refrain from doing all these evil things. On the contrary, you should set your heart on doing what God requires of you, living a life that is acceptable to him, trusting in Christ more and more, loving other people, always being full of hope (or, never giving up), and being gentle with other people.

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 .