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.
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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.