1 Timothy 5:19-25

5:19 Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless it can be confirmed by two or three witnesses. ¹  5:20 Those guilty of sin ²  must be rebuked ³  before all, ⁴  as a warning to the rest. ⁵  5:21 Before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, I solemnly charge you to carry out these commands without prejudice or favoritism of any kind. ⁶  5:22 Do not lay hands on anyone ⁷  hastily and so identify with the sins of others. ⁸  Keep yourself pure. 5:23 (Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion ⁹  and your frequent illnesses.) ¹⁰  5:24 The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later. ¹¹  5:25 Similarly good works are also obvious, and the ones that are not cannot remain hidden.

¹ sn An allusion to Deut 17:6, 19:15.

² sn As a continuation of v. 19, this refers to elders who sin, not to sinning believers more generally.

³ tn Or “censured.” The Greek word implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

⁴ tn “Before all” probably refers to the whole congregation, not just all the elders; “the rest” is more likely to denote the remaining elders.

⁵ tn Grk “that the rest may have fear.”

⁶ tn Grk “doing nothing according to partiality.”

⁷ tn In context “laying hands on anyone” refers to ordination or official installation of someone as an elder.

⁸ tn Grk “and do not share in the sins of others.”

⁹ tn Grk “for the sake of your stomach.”

¹⁰ sn This verse gives parenthetical advice to Timothy, to clarify what it means to keep pure (5:22c). Verse 24 resumes the instructions about elders.

¹¹ tn Grk “they [the sins] follow after others.”