Paragraph 2:9–15

In this paragraph, Paul told Timothy how female believers should dress and behave when they met to worship God. Paul had instructed the men in Ephesus about a problem that was typical for them (2:8). In this paragraph he instructed the women in Ephesus about a problem that was typical for the women.

2:9a

Likewise, I want: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Likewise literally means “in the same way.” In 2:8, Paul told men what he wanted them to do. Here, he began to tell women what he wanted them to do. It may be helpful in some languages to supply “I want” (from 2:8a) as the Berean Standard Bible has done.

the women: This probably refers to any female who is considered old enough to be married, even if she is still unmarried. Your language may have a general word that refers to both married and unmarried adult women. If so, you should use it here.

to adorn themselves with respectable apparel: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to adorn themselves with respectable apparel is literally “to adorn themselves with modest clothing.” It is important to dress and behave modestly. Paul was telling the woman that they should not dress or behave in a way that made everyone look at them. Some of them probably spent too much money on clothes. Others maybe dressed in ways that people thought inappropriate.

respectable apparel: The Greek word kosmios that the Berean Standard Bible translates as respectable apparel refers to dressing in a way that people in the community think of as proper, acceptable, or appropriate. (See Louw and Nida on kosmios; 88.48 and 66.10.)

2:9b

with modesty, and with self-control: This part of the verse further describes the way in which women should dress.

modesty: The Greek wordaidōs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as modesty means that a woman should dress in a way that did not offend other people. The way she dresses should also not bring shame and dishonor upon her. If she did not dress with modesty, people might think that she was dressing to attract men. Every culture has different standards of modesty. So try to avoid using a word or expression that describes specifically what is considered “modest” in your culture.

self-control: The Greek word (Knight, page 134, says, “This word was used of one of the four cardinal virtues in Platonic philosophy (Plato, Republic 4.430e) and signified a command over bodily passions, a state of self-mastery in the area of the appetite.”) sōfrosunē that the Berean Standard Bible translates as self-control means almost the same thing as aidōs modesty. It means to act in a way that people consider correct, acceptable, or appropriate.

These two words translated modesty and self-control mean almost the same thing. In some languages there will not be two separate words for this idea. If this is true in your language, you may translate it with one emphasized word:

with the utmost decency

General Comment on 2:9b

In some languages, it may be necessary to explain in more detail what Paul meant here. One way to do this is:

They should always be sure that their clothing covers their body sufficiently, rather than dressing in order to cause men to desire them.

2:9c–d

In 2:9c–d, Paul gave instructions about things Christian women should avoid when they made themselves beautiful. He chose as examples some ways in which immoral women (such as prostitutes) in Ephesus dressed. He could also have been referring to the way wealthy women dressed.

2:9c

2:9c begins with the implied command “Do not adorn yourselves [with…].” You may need to supply a suitable verb here.

braided hair: When women braid their hair, they twist several strands of it together in a special way. They may have one, two, or many braids. In many parts of the world, this is a normal and respectable way for a woman to dress her hair. However, in Paul’s time, women normally did not braid their hair. Instead, they parted it in the middle, pulled it back, and fastened it with a pin or scarf. (S. M. Baugh in Women in the Church, pages 47–48.)

In 2:9c, Paul was referring to the elaborate hairstyles that wealthy women in Ephesus considered fashionable. (See Hurley, page 199.) Paul said that Christian women should not wear their hair in these ways. Instead, they should wear their hair in a more simple arrangement.

If in your culture women do not braid their hair, you may want to follow the Good News Translation, which says:

fancy hair styles

Respectable women in many cultures do braid their hair. If this is true in your region, try to use a more general expression.

2:9d

gold: Gold was a very valuable metal. Here Paul was referring to jewelry made from gold that women wore to decorate either their hair or their body.

pearls: The word pearls refers to small, round, white objects that grow inside the shells of oysters. They also are expensive, sometimes even more valuable than gold. Here Paul was referring to jewelry which included pearls. If pearls are unknown in your region, you will need to use a phrase like “expensive jewelry.”

General Comment on 2:9d

Paul was not telling the women that they should never wear jewelry. Instead, he was explaining what it meant in Ephesus to dress modestly (2:9a), and with decency and propriety (2:9b).

2:9e

expensive clothes: Paul was saying that believers should not dress in clothing that cost a lot of money. If they did so, people might think they were doing so just to show how wealthy and beautiful they were. In English, words like “extravagant,” “ostentatious,” and “showy” convey this meaning. It is the opposite of “respectable” in 2:9a.

General Comment on 2:9c–e

Different cultures differ in what they consider as modest, decent and proper clothing, hair styles and jewelry. Therefore, the details of Paul’s instructions do not apply to all women in every place in the world for all time. The important thing is that in every culture female believers should dress in a way that their culture considers to be proper.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

Paragraph 4:11–16

In this paragraph Paul told Timothy how to convince people to accept his teaching, even though he was young. He told Timothy to be a good example for the other believers (4:12b). He told him to read the Scriptures to people and to teach them (4:13b). He also told Timothy to use the gift that God had given him (4:14a). This gift was the ability that God had given him to teach and to lead other people. Paul also told Timothy to keep progressing spiritually (4:15c), and to persevere (4:16b). (Adapted from Stott, pages 120–125.)

4:11

these things: Paul was referring to the things that he had been writing about, especially in the previous paragraph (4:6–10).

General Comment on 4:11

People teach something and then command people to obey it. Therefore, in some languages it may be more logical to reverse the order of the verbs in this verse. You could say:

Teach the believers all these things that I have written and command them to obey them.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

6:5a

constant friction between men of depraved mind: This is the final result of the false teachers’ quarreling about words. The term that the Berean Standard Bible translates as constant friction refers to the unpleasant relationship between people who continually quarrel with each other over unimportant things. Here are some possible ways to translate this:

There is no end to their arguments with people
-or-
All the time they squabble with each other

men of depraved mind: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men of depraved mind refers to the false teachers themselves.

The reason that the false teachers behaved the way they did was because their minds were depraved (Knight, pages 250–251, says, “The ultimate reason for all that precedes and they were “devoid of the truth” (6:5b).

depraved mind: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as of depraved mind refer to people whose minds can no longer discern the difference between right and wrong. (Knight, page 252, says that the devil is in view here as the one who causes the corruption. He says that the devil is also the subject in 6:5c. However, it would probably be a mistake to translate this explicitly with the devil as the agent/subject, here. It would highlight the role of the devil too much, perhaps making it seem that the false teachers were not to blame. Paul himself does not highlight the devil here. He keeps the focus on the actual state of the false teachers. That is why we suggest translating it as a simple fact that their minds are corrupt, without stating that the devil causes the corruption.) The Greek text does not say who made these people’s minds depraved, and you should avoid trying to make that explicit in your translation.

mind: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mind refers to a person’s “way of thinking,” or “thoughts.” You should use an expression in your language for the part of a person that “thinks.”

6:5b

devoid of the truth: Paul did not say who had made the false teachers devoid of the truth. You also should avoid trying to make that explicit in your translation. Rather, Paul was emphasizing that the false teachers could no longer understand what was true.

6:5c

These men regard: Here Paul talked about one of the lies that the false teachers thought was true.

godliness as a means of gain:

Some translations include the words “from such withdraw thyself” (King James Version) at the end of this verse. However, most people who study the Greek texts agree that these words were not present in Paul’s original letter to Timothy. The Editorial Committee of the UBS Handbook New Testament (4
th edition) gives the reading without “from such withdraw thyself” an {A} rating, indicating that the text is almost certain. Metzger, page 643, says, “Although the reading is ancient, as appears from patristic testimony, it must be rejected as a pious but banal gloss, because (a) the best manuscripts of both the Alexandrian and the Western types of text…support the shorter reading, and (b) if it were present originally, no good reason can be assigned for its omission.”) The false teachers hoped that when they behaved in a godly manner, they would make lots of money. One way to express this is:

godliness is a good way to make a lot of money.

godliness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as godliness normally refers to the way people behave when they respect God. Paul used the word godliness in this way in 2:2c, 3:16a, 4:7b and 4:8b. However, here in 6:5c, the context is different.

It is most likely that godliness here refers to teaching about God. The false teachers wanted to teach about God so that they could become rich by charging money for people to listen to them. In Paul’s time, people often gained money by going from town to town teaching different religions. That is what the false teachers in Ephesus were also trying to do. They were trying to become rich by teaching about God. (Kelly, page 135, says, “It has been disputed whether the charge is that they used their show of piety as a lever for material advancement, or that they exacted fees for the esoteric religious instruction they gave to their adherents. The latter is almost certainly correct, for it coheres better with what follows, and also (if we are justified in regarding it as a parallel) with the picture of their strenuous propagandist methods given in Tit. i. ii. Further, it is inconceivable that the profession of Christianity was materially advantageous at any of the times which have been seriously proposed for the composition of the Pastorals. As we have seen (v. 17 f.: cf. 2 Tim. ii. 6), Paul has no objection to church officials, least of all teachers, receiving emoluments. His complaint against the sectaries seems to be that they make money their prime objective and set a specific price upon their wares.”)

Paragraph 6:6–10

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

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.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

5:7a

5:7 begins with the Greek connector kai that is often translated as “and” or “also.” Here, it probably means that Timothy should give these instructions “in addition to” the other instructions that Paul wanted Timothy to give to the believers.

Give these instructions to the believers: In the Greek text Paul did not say to whom Timothy was to give the instructions. The Berean Standard Bible has used the believers as the implicit object. There are two possibilities:

(1) Timothy was to give the instructions to the believers in general.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Revised English Bible)

(2) Timothy was to give the instructions to the widows.

(New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation)

Most English translations follow the Greek text and do not include an object. Therefore they are ambiguous. See the Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, God’s Word, and NET Bible.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because in this context Paul was talking about the way that believers should help widows. Therefore it was more likely that he meant the instructions to be for the whole group of believers.

these instructions: The expression these instructions refers to Paul’s instructions about the widows in the preceding verses.

5:7b

so that they will be above reproach: This means, “so that other people will have no reason to criticize them.”

There are two ways to interpret the pronoun “they” in this context:

(1) It refers to the believers.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Century Version, Contemporary English Version)

(2) It refers to the widows.

(New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, probably also Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). In 5:7a Paul told Timothy to command the believers to care for widows. Therefore, when Paul mentioned they here he was probably referring generally to believers and saying that no believer should be open to blame.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

6:16a

He alone is immortal: To say that only God is immortal is to say that he is the only one who lives forever and never dies.

6:16b

and dwells in unapproachable light: In the Old Testament, God often demonstrated his presence by appearing as a bright light. This is part of the meaning of God’s “glory.” Paul was probably thinking about this aspect of God’s presence when he wrote that God dwells in unapproachable light. Even Moses was not able to approach the tabernacle when God’s glory (light) filled it (Exodus 40:34–35).

unapproachable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unapproachable means that no one can approach or come near this “light.”

6:16c

Him: This refers to God.

nor can anyone see Him: Not only has no person seen God, but it is not possible for a person to see God and remain alive (Exodus 33:20).

6:16d

To Him be honor and eternal dominion: Paul was not praying for God to receive honor and might. Instead, he was praising God because it is right to honor God, and God is mighty. The Contemporary English Version expresses this:

God will be honored, and his power will last forever.

honor: In some languages it may be necessary to use a verb rather than a noun like honor. To honor someone means to respect him and to treat him as an important person. See the note on 1:17d.

eternal dominion: In Greek the expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as eternal means that God will always deserve honor and might.

Amen: When people in the Bible prayed to God, they often ended by saying Amen. This means not only that they had finished, but that they fully agreed with what they had said. Because this word is well known even today, many translations just transliterate it. Another possibility is to translate it with an expression like “so let it be.” See the note on 1:17d.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.

Section 1:18–20

Paul encouraged Timothy to persevere

In this section, Paul tried to encourage Timothy. He did not want Timothy to become discouraged because of the false teachers in Ephesus. So he reminded Timothy about the prophecies that people had spoken about him when the believers dedicated him as a pastor.

Paragraph 1:18–20

1:18a

my child: This is a metaphor. When Paul called Timothy my child, he meant that Timothy was like a son to him and that he loved him like a father loves his son. See the comments on “my true son” in 1:2b.

In some languages it is not possible to call someone “my child” if he is not a biological child. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a simile rather than a metaphor. For example:

You are like my real son.

Or you may prefer to use a more natural expression, such as “my dear [Timothy]” or “my beloved [Timothy].”

I entrust you with this command: Paul was commanding Timothy to correct those who were teaching wrongly. The same Greek word which means “entrust” or “commit” is also used in 1 Timothy 6:20 and 2 Timothy 2:2.

this command: Scholars interpret the phrase this command in several different ways. Two of the ways are:

(1) Paul was referring to his command to Timothy in 1:3a–4a to correct the false teachers. For example, the New Century Version says:

Timothy, my child, I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past.

(Berean Standard Bible, New Century Version, Revised Standard Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, NET Bible)

(2) Paul was referring to his command in 1:18d to “fight the good fight.” For example, the New American Standard Bible says:

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight

(New American Standard Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the same word is used here as in 1:3 and 1:5.

1:18b

in keeping with the previous prophecies about you:

If we consider what Jesus told Paul when Paul first started his ministry, it helps us to understand the kinds of things which Timothy may also have been told by prophets when he began his ministry. You can read what Jesus told Paul in Acts 9:15–16, 22:14–15, 22:21 and 26:16–18. Jesus told Paul the following (see Hendriksen p. 85):
(a) Paul would have a special job of announcing God’s message,
(b) some of the details of his job,
(c) Paul would suffer, and
(d) Jesus would always help him when he suffered.
It could be that the prophetic messages which Timothy received were similar to these messages which Paul received, although the details were probably different. If these messages were similar, then Timothy needed to remember things like the following:
(a) It was God himself who had called him to the job of proclaiming the gospel. Timothy did not get this job merely from some person’s idea or from his own imagination.
(b) God himself promised to help him do that job.
Consequently, as Timothy remembered the prophecies which people had spoken about him, he would want to continue to do his job in spite of difficulties.
) Paul was saying that what he was telling Timothy to do in this letter agreed with some prophecies that had been made about Timothy earlier. If Timothy did what Paul told him to, he would be doing what God, by means of the prophecies, had told him to do.

the previous prophecies about you: Paul was probably referring to the time (see 4:14b) when church leaders placed their hands on Timothy, prayed for him, and dedicated him as a pastor and special helper for Paul.

the previous prophecies: The word prophecies refers to special messages that the Holy Spirit gives to people.

1:18c

so that: Paul here told Timothy his purpose in reminding him about the prophecies.

by them: The pronoun them refers to the prophecies made about Timothy. Scholars interpret this in several ways:

(1) Timothy was to remember the things that the prophets said in their message from God to him and be encouraged by it. For example, the NET Bible says:

that with such encouragement…

(NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

(2) Timothy was to use what the prophets said (as a weapon against evil). For example, the Good News Translation says:

Use those words as weapons…

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word)

(3) Timothy was to obey what the prophets said. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

If you follow these instructions…

(Contemporary English Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Paul was probably telling Timothy to remember certain things. As Timothy remembered these things, he would be more likely to be faithful and “fight the good fight.”

1:18d

fight the good fight: Timothy’s task was to proclaim the gospel and to correct false teaching. Paul wanted Timothy to continue to do this no matter how difficult it might become. He compared this to fighting. There are two ways to make this clearer. For example:

to fight well in the Lord’s battles (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
you will fight like a good soldier (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages, the phrase fight the good fight can only refer to physical fighting. If your language is like that, you may need to make it clear in you translation the way Timothy’s job was like fighting in a physical battle. For example, you could say:

contend for the truth of the gospel as a good soldier fights to win a war

Or you may have to translate without a comparison here, in order for Paul’s main point to be clear enough that people can understand it. For example:

continue to proclaim the gospel despite opposition

good fight: This has been interpreted in two ways:

(1) It means to fight well; that is, bravely or expertly. For example, the Good News Translation says “fight well.”

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), Contemporary English Version)

(2) It means that the fight was itself good; that is, just and right. When Timothy did his job to proclaim God’s message, he was fighting for a worthy principle or goal. God’s Word says:

fight this noble war

Most English versions are ambiguous. If you must choose between these interpretations, it is recommended that you choose interpretation (1).

fight: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fight means “campaign” or “war,” not a single battle.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.