These next two verses describe in detail the conduct of the false teachers and the results of such conduct within the Christian community. These are set out as consequences of teaching false doctrines; that is, anyone who teaches unsound doctrine will have a life characterized by the negative traits mentioned in these two verses.

What is of special concern to translators is that verses 3-5 form one long conditional sentence, with the condition mentioned in verse 3 and the results mentioned in verses 4 and 5. This long sentence may need to be restructured into two or more shorter sentences, depending on the requirements of the receptor language and the intended audience. For this purpose Good News Translation serves as a good model. A further concern is how to render the consequences. One possibility is to retain the conditional structure of the text, that is, the structure “if … then….” One other possibility is to take the consequences as actual descriptions of the false teachers; to depict this properly, however, the conditional structure of the sentence can be substituted with a simple statement that is more fitted for describing something; for example, “Anyone who … is….” If, however, a translator follows the second alternative model at the end of verse 3, a new sentence may be started at the beginning of verse 4; for example, “People who do such things are proud” or “These false teachers are…”

The first consequence is that the false teacher is puffed up with conceit. This translates one Greek word that also appears in 3.6, for which see discussion there. The false teachers are pictured as proud, arrogant, conceited, which must really describe anyone who dares to teach something different from that which Christ himself has taught and revealed. This phrase may also be rendered as “has a heart filled up with pride.”

Secondly, the false teacher knows nothing; that is, he is ignorant (compare New English Bible “a pompous ignoramus,” Phillips “conceited idiot”). The Greek word for know includes the element of understanding; in this case a person who knows nothing is a person who doesn’t understand anything (see New International Version “understands nothing”), and in some languages that will be a natural translation model. Contemporary English Version‘s model “but they don’t really know a thing” is also a helpful one.

Thirdly, the false teacher has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. Has a morbid craving translates a Greek word that means to have an “unhealthy desire” (Good News Translation) for something. The noun form of the verb refers to sickness in general, which indicates that this unhealthy craving is an ailment of some kind. Other ways to express this are “have a strong unnatural craving (or, desire) to…” or “have a heart which desires wrongly (or, unnaturally) to….” However, in some languages it will be possible to say something like “Their minds (or, hearts) are sick, and they are always wanting to….” Controversy translates a Greek word that refers to forcefully expressing differences of opinion but without interest in seeking for a solution; hence “disputes,” “debates,” “questionings.” Disputes about words on the other hand translates a Greek word that refers to arguing or quarreling about the meaning and use of words; it is used only here and in 2 Tim 2.14. These two terms are obviously related in meaning and may even be put together in translation (for example, Good News Translation “argue and quarrel about words,” New English Bible “mere verbal questions and quibbles”). Another way of expressing controversy and disputes about words is “argue and quarrel with other people about the meaning of words.”

Such useless arguments and quibbling about words give rise to negative conditions within the community; five of these are mentioned. Some translators will find it helpful to begin a new sentence here and say, for example, “Such arguments produce (or, cause)…,” and in some languages it will be necessary to move the phrase among men who to the beginning of this new sentence and say “Such arguments cause certain people who are depraved in mind to….”

Envy is the eager desire to have or attain what belongs to another, and other possible translation models are “be jealous of other people’s abilities” or “desire to have what other people have.” Dissension refers to the act of separating from one another or creating divisions and schisms and thus undermining the unity of any group. So one may also translate “to divide into groups” or “have continual disagreements with others.” Slander is literally “blasphemies,” the verb form of which is used in 1.20. Here, however, the stress of the word is on the horizontal rather than the vertical dimension, that is, it focuses on harsh, evil, and abusive language directed primarily to other people rather than to God. The plural, moreover, focuses on both the frequency of these insults and the number of those who participate in such actions. Another way of expressing slander is “continually say evil things about others.” Suspicions translates a word that refers to forming an opinion based on very scanty evidence, and thus falling into the danger of regarding something false as true. Suspicions are bad in themselves, but here their negative nature is heightened by describing them as base or “evil.” Wrangling translates a word that refers to “constant” and continuous arguing; the plural form (compare Good News Translation “arguments”) accents both the frequency and the constancy of these arguments. Contemporary English Version has “nasty quarrels.” The word occurs only here in the New Testament.

These continuous and violent disputes come from men (better, “people”) who are depraved in mind, bereft of the truth, and who think that godliness is a means of becoming rich. Men translates the generic word for human beings, hence Good News Translation “people.” Depraved translates a perfect passive participle of the verb that means “to ruin,” “to destroy completely.” In a moral or ethical sense, the verb means to cause someone to become morally corrupt, hence “to pervert.” A third meaning of the verb is “to waste away,” to become so weak and incapacitated that the mind can no longer function properly. Most translations take the second of these alternatives (that is, moral corruption), although the third is also possible (see, for example, Good News Translation “whose minds do not function”). If translators take this second meaning, other ways to express depraved in mind are “whose minds are completely corrupt (or, depraved)” or “whose minds are totally wicked (or, evil).” Bereft translates another perfect passive participle, this time from a verb that means to deprive someone of something, sometimes by deception (so “to defraud”) or by some other means. The focus of the translation may be on the resulting state that is the absence of something (hence Good News Translation “who no longer have the truth”; compare New English Bible “have lost grip of the truth”), or on the means by which someone is deprived of something (hence New International Version “who have been robbed of the truth”). For truth see 2.4 and 2.7.

The third thing mentioned about these people is that they think of godliness as a means of material gain. For godliness see comments on “godly” in 2.2 and on “our religion” in 3.16. Means of gain translates a Greek word that means “financial gain” or “profit.” Perhaps the focus here is not on the amount or quantity of wealth involved, but rather on the means used in procuring this wealth. This means that godliness or “religion” (Good News Translation) is not really their main concern but is only being used as a means to achieve their main goal of financial gain. Another way of expressing imagining that godliness is a means of gain is “thinking that being a Christian is a way to become rich.”

A final matter that needs to be discussed is the identity of these people. Some commentators identify the people mentioned in verse 5 with the false teachers, hence with “any one” in verse 3; the activities of these people have resulted in envy, dissension, slander and base suspicions among the members of the Christian community. A second possibility is to identify these people with members of the Christian community who are influenced in a negative way by the false teachers. This means that the people who use religion for personal gain are the same people who display the negative attitudes of envy, dissension, slander and evil suspicions; they are the same people whose minds have become corrupt and who no longer have the truth. The description of the false teachers would be limited to verses 3 and 4a. This second alternative seems closer to the grammatical structure of the text. It should be noted, however, that the first alternative is the choice of many modern commentaries and does not present translators with difficult translation problems.

An alternative translation model for these two verses is:
• People like this have hearts full of pride and don’t understand anything. They have sick minds so that they want to argue and quarrel with others about the meanings of words. This incessant arguing about words causes certain people who have perverted minds (or, hearts) to be jealous of them, say evil about them, and separate into groups. Their minds become full of evil suspicions, and they argue constantly with others. Such people think that they will become rich as a result of becoming Christians.

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 .