1 Timothy 5:17-25

5:17 Elders who provide effective leadership ¹  must be counted worthy ²  of double honor, ³  especially those who work hard in speaking ⁴  and teaching. 5:18 For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” ⁵  and, “The worker deserves his pay.” ⁶  5:19 Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless it can be confirmed by two or three witnesses. ⁷  5:20 Those guilty of sin ⁸  must be rebuked ⁹  before all, ¹⁰  as a warning to the rest. ¹¹  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. ¹²  5:22 Do not lay hands on anyone ¹³  hastily and so identify with the sins of others. ¹⁴  Keep yourself pure. 5:23 (Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion ¹⁵  and your frequent illnesses.) ¹⁶  5:24 The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later. ¹⁷  5:25 Similarly good works are also obvious, and the ones that are not cannot remain hidden.

[5:17]  ¹ tn Grk “who lead well.”

[5:17]  ² tn Or “deserving.”

[5:17]  ³ tn Like the similar use of “honor” in v. 3, this phrase
denotes both respect and remuneration: “honor plus honorarium.”

[5:17]  ⁴ tn Or “in preaching”; Grk “in word.”

[5:18]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 25:4.

[5:18]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Luke 10:7.

[5:19]  ⁷ sn An allusion to Deut 17:6, 19:15.

[5:20]  ⁸ sn As a continuation of v. 19, this refers to elders who sin, not to sinning believers more generally.

[5:20]  ⁹ tn Or “censured.” The Greek word implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.

[5:20]  ¹⁰ tn “Before all” probably refers to the whole congregation, not just all the elders; “the rest” is more likely to denote the remaining elders.

[5:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “that the rest may have fear.”

[5:21]  ¹² tn Grk “doing nothing according to partiality.”

[5:22]  ¹³ tn In context “laying hands on anyone” refers to ordination or official installation of someone as an elder.

[5:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and do not share in the sins of others.”

[5:23]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “for the sake of your stomach.”

[5:23]  ¹⁶ 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.

[5:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “they [the sins] follow after others.”