10she must be well attested for her good works, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way.
The Greek that is translated as “saint” in English is rendered into Highland Puebla Nahuatl as “one with a clean hearts,” into Northwestern Dinka as “one with a white hearts,” and into Western Kanjobal as “person of prayer.” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 146)
Chichewa “(person with a) white heart” since “white” is the word that is used in Chichewa for the translation of “holy.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The now commonly-used German expression gastfrei, literally meaning “generous tóeward guests,” was first coined in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 72)
For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 5:10:
Uma: “They must be ones who clearly do good deeds, like for instance: they took good care of their children, are hospitable to passers-by, help their one-faith relatives, care for people in difficulties, and customarily do all kinds of good work. Widows like that are the ones who are fit to be cared for by the one-faith relatives.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Their good deeds ought also to be well-known, that is they raised their children well, they treat-according-to-good-custom the people who go to their house, their livers are low/humble they do even whatever for the ones belonging to God, they help the ones who are in troubles/sorrows and whatever is a good deed they do. Widows like that can be listed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It’s also necessary that she be well known because of her good works such as taking care of children, taking care of visitors; she has washed the feet of believers, she has helped those in trouble, and she has done all kinds of good things.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “It is also necessary that the good things they have been doing like these are well-known (lit. being-reported): they have taken-care of their children properly, they are hospitable, they have humbled (lit. lowered) themselves to serve God’s people, they have been helping people in trouble/hardship, and they have been industrious to do whatever is good.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “It is also necessary that her nature/ways are well-known to be good, like she trained her children well, welcomes people well who need to stay at her house. There’s no service to her fellow believers that she says no to. She helps those who are in hardship. And all this time, what she gives priority to is, all deeds which are good.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “They must be women who are known to do what is good, who have brought up their children well, who have given a resting place to strangers. And they must be known to be those who are not proud, and have respect for their fellow believers. They help those who suffer. They must always want to do only what is good.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Chichewa: AmbuyeAmbuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
Specific requirements for the enrollment of widows are now set forth.
The verb for enrolled means to put the name of someone on a list in order to be identified as a member of a particular group. Only those who are enrolled as real widows will be entitled to receive material support from the Christian community. Another way to translate this clause is “Do not write down the name of a widow in the list of widows unless….” In languages that do not have a word for “list,” one may say, for example, “Do not count a widow as one who should receive financial help unless….”
The possibility has also been suggested by some scholars that there existed in the early church an office of widows, some functions of which are mentioned in verse 10. If this is the case, then the enrollment is not only to entitle these widows to receive support from the church, but also to give them the right to function as church leaders. However, the right to receive financial aid would still be the chief reason to enroll widows. In certain languages one may restructure this first sentence; for example, “When a widow is sixty years of age, you may add her to the list of widows.”
In order to ensure that the list of real widows is as accurate as possible, certain criteria are set forth. The first criterion pertains to age: she must be at least sixty years old. Reasons for not including younger widows in the list are indicated later (verses 11-16).
The next criterion pertains to the widow’s relationship with her husband. As indicated by the presence of a footnote in Good News Translation, the Greek text can be interpreted in at least two different ways. Literally the Greek text can be translated “the wife of one husband.” Does this mean that she is married only once (Good News Translation; compare Jerusalem Bible “who has had only one husband”) or that, regardless of the times she had gotten remarried, she has always been faithful to whatever husband she had? In other words, is the focus here on the number of husbands (one) or faithfulness in the marriage relationship? Having had only one husband seems to be the more logical choice and is in fact followed by most translations.
A third qualification is that she must be well attested for her good deeds. Attested comes from the same word that is usually translated “witness” or “testify,” here used in the sense of receiving a good report, that is, of people speaking well of her and regarding her very favorably because of what she is doing. A modern way of expressing this is to say that she has a good reputation (Good News Translation) or is well known (New International Version) for her deeds. Other ways of rendering this are “other people attest to the fact that she does all sorts of good deeds” or “other people say that she is a good person.”
What follows are some of the good deeds that the widow should have been involved in. There are some things that should be noticed in the Greek text. First, the construction is such that a list of activities is intended. The first four in the list are specific activities, whereas the last one sounds much more like a generic statement that sums up all the other activities not included under any of the first four activities mentioned. Secondly, the tense of the verbs in the series is aorist, which means that these activities have been completed in the past and most possibly are not continuing in the present. This is understandable, since many of these activities involve expending material resources that a widow in her destitute condition would not be able to afford.
The first good deed mentioned is that of bringing up children. The Greek here consists of one compound verb that combines “child” with “bring up” and means raising up a child to maturity by providing for all the child’s needs, both material and otherwise. The text does not say who these children are, but they are obviously her own, a fact that is made explicit in Good News Translation and many other translations. Furthermore, since the tense of the verse is aorist, this activity of bringing up children is a past one, and her ability to raise children well is shown by the quality of life that her children now live.
The second good deed is hospitality. The Greek word combines “stranger” and “receive,” hence Good News Translation “received strangers in her home.” Here again the aorist tense of the verb indicates that this act of hospitality is an event in the past. A real widow would not be expected to welcome strangers into her home, since she would not have the means to provide for their needs. See 3.2 for comments on the translation of “hospitable.”
The third is washing the feet of the saints. Saints is a technical term for believers (literally “the holy ones”), hence “God’s people.” Washing the feet was an act performed on guests. At that time, when guests arrived their feet would be dirty from the dust of the road, and someone from the host’s household (usually a house servant or slave) would take off the guests’ sandals at the door and wash their feet. In the present context it is not at all certain whether this should be taken literally or figuratively. If literally, it would mean that the widow herself performed this lowly task of welcoming Christian guests by washing their dusty feet. If figuratively, it would mean that the widow “performed humble duties for fellow Christians” (Good News Translation). One advantage of this figurative understanding is that the widow’s deeds are not limited to the washing of the feet of Christian guests, but they include any lowly task that is done for members of the Christian community. A literal translation would of course be ambiguous and would tend to support a literal interpretation as well. If a figurative interpretation is opted for, it may be advisable to have a footnote indicating the literal rendition of the Greek and explaining what it is, and how it is related to the nonliteral translation. For most languages it will be helpful for translators to follow Good News Translation‘s model. Other ways of rendering this are “she did small jobs for other Christians,” “she helped her fellow Christians in the small ways,” or “she served other Christians just as if she was a servant (or, as a servant would serve).”
A fourth specific item is now mentioned, that of relieving the afflicted. The verb translated relieved can mean “to help” in a general sense, or in a more specific sense to supply the needs of someone, hence “to provide for,” “to support.” Afflicted translates a present passive participle from a verb that means “to press” or “to oppress,” “to cause someone to experience hardship and suffering.” The nature of the affliction or suffering is not mentioned; it is suggested by some interpreters that the trouble may be related to the persecution that Christians experience. But since there is no certainty in this regard, it is probably best to keep the generic sense here, as most translations have done; for example, Good News Translation “helped those in trouble,” New English Bible “supported those in distress.”
The conclusion of the series is a general statement: devoted herself to doing good in every way. The verb translated devoted herself is a compound form of the verb “to follow” and means to give or devote oneself wholeheartedly to something, hence New American Bible, Revised “involved herself.” See 4.15 for comments on devoted. Doing good in every way is literally “in every good deed”; this form is reflected in Barclay “good works of every kind” (see also Jerusalem Bible, New International Version). Revised Standard Version has changed the nominal expression into a verbal phrase (compare New English Bible “she has taken every opportunity of doing good”).
An alternative translation model for these two verses is:
• When a widow is sixty years of age, you may add her to the list of widows. However, she must have had only one husband, and other people must confirm that she had always done good deeds; for example, she raised her children well, she welcomed into her home Christians who were traveling, she served other Christians just as if she were a servant, and she helped people who were undergoing troubles. She must have given herself to doing good deeds of all kinds.
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 .
and well known for good deeds: This is the third main condition that a widow must fulfill to be included on the list of widows. Paul probably was not speaking about specific good deeds, but referring to the widow’s reputation as someone who frequently did good deeds.
In the rest of this verse Paul gave some examples of good deeds.
and well known: That is, other people know that she is the sort of person who helps others.
General Comment on 5:9a–10a
Paul here gave three conditions that were to be met before a widow could be enrolled or put on the list of widows. In some languages it might be better to make this clear by using three conditional or “if” clauses, like this:
Enroll a widow only if she is over sixty years old, if she has been faithful to her husband, and if people agree that she has always been busy doing good things.
5:10b
such as: In the Berean Standard Bible, the words such as introduce a list of four specific kinds of good deeds (5:10b–e) for which the widow should be known.
bringing up children: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as bringing up children refers to caring for children, providing for their physical needs, and training and teaching them what they need to know to be virtuous people.
children: These children may not have been her own children, but most likely her grandchildren. Use the most general word for children that you can.
5:10c
entertaining strangers: Although the Greek word here is different from the one that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “hospitable” in 3:2d, the meaning is the same. A widow must also be a person who welcomes guests into her home for food and shelter.
5:10d
washing the feet of the saints: It was usual in Paul’s time for a guest’s feet to be washed when he arrived. In John 13:1–17, Jesus showed that washing someone else’s feet was an act of humility and love and that it was something believers should do for one another. However, in this context, scholars disagree about whether this expression should be understood:
(1) literally
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, New Century Version)
(2) figuratively. For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says:
served other Christians humbly
(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and translate this literally. Paul was listing some specific good deeds and there is no reason to assume that he was speaking figuratively.
If your readers will not understand the reason that someone might wash someone else’s feet, you might need to add an explanation or a cross reference to John 13:1–17 in a footnote.
the saints: The Greek word for saints literally refers to “the holy ones” or “the sanctified ones.” The word saints refers to someone who believes in Christ.
5:10e
imparting relief to the afflicted: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the afflicted refers to people who are in distress, who are suffering in some way, or who are experiencing hardship/difficulties.
5:10f
devoting herself to every good work: This is a general statement that summarizes what Paul had just been saying. The widow must have been faithfully and consistently showing all sorts of kindness to people.
devoting herself to: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as devoting herself to means that she should occupy her time with doing good deeds or that she should work diligently to do good deeds. See also the note on 4:13b.
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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.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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