1 Timothy 5:9

5:9 No widow should be put on the list ¹  unless ²  she is at least sixty years old, was the wife of one husband, ³ 

Deuteronomy 10:18

10:18 who justly treats ⁴  the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 14:29

14:29 Then the Levites (because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work you do.

Deuteronomy 16:11

16:11 You shall rejoice before him ⁵  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, ⁶  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

Deuteronomy 16:14

16:14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 27:19

27:19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Job 29:13

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ⁸ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁹ 

Job 31:16

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ¹⁰ 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Psalms 68:5

68:5 He is a father to the fatherless

and an advocate for widows. ¹¹ 

God rules from his holy palace. ¹² 

Psalms 94:6

94:6 They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land,

and they murder the fatherless. ¹³ 

Psalms 146:9

146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;

he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, ¹⁴ 

but he opposes the wicked. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 49:11

49:11 Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive.

Your widows too can depend on me.” ¹⁶ 

Matthew 23:14

23:14 [[EMPTY]] ¹⁷ 

Luke 7:12

7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man ¹⁸  who had died was being carried out, ¹⁹  the only son of his mother (who ²⁰  was a widow ²¹ ), and a large crowd from the town ²²  was with her.

Acts 6:1

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ²³  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ²⁴  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ²⁵  against the native Hebraic Jews, ²⁶  because their widows ²⁷  were being overlooked ²⁸  in the daily distribution of food. ²⁹ 

Acts 9:39

9:39 So Peter got up and went with them, and ³⁰  when he arrived ³¹  they brought him to the upper room. All ³²  the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him ³³  the tunics ³⁴  and other clothing ³⁵  Dorcas used to make ³⁶  while she was with them.

James 1:27

1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before ³⁷  God the Father ³⁸  is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

[5:9]  ¹ sn This list was an official enrollment, apparently with a formal pledge to continue as a widow and serve the Lord in that way (cf. v. 12). It was either (1) the list of “true widows” who were given support by the church or (2) a smaller group of older women among the supported widows who were qualified for special service (perhaps to orphans, other widows, the sick, etc.). Most commentators understand it to be the former, since a special group is not indicated clearly. See G. W. Knight, Pastoral Epistles, 222-23 for discussion.

[5:9]  ² tn Grk “let a widow be enrolled if she has reached not less than sixty years.”

[5:9]  ³ tn Or “a woman married only once,” “was devoted solely to her husband” (see the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; Titus 1:6).

[10:18]  ⁴ tn Or “who executes justice for” (so NAB, NRSV); NLT “gives justice to.”

[16:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “gates.”

[16:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “in your gates.”

[29:13]  ⁸ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁹ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[31:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[68:5]  ¹¹ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.

[68:5]  ¹² tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.

[94:6]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 82:3; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[146:9]  ¹⁴ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.

[146:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.

[49:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Their children and relatives will all be destroyed. And none of their neighbors will say, ‘Leave your orphans with me and I’ll keep them alive. Your widows can trust in me.’” This latter interpretation is based on a reading in a couple of the Greek versions (Symmachus and Lucian) and is accepted by a number of the modern commentaries, (J. Bright, J. A. Thompson, W. L. Holladay, and G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers). However, the majority of modern English versions do not follow it and lacking any other Hebrew or versional evidence it is probable that this is an interpretation to explain the mitigation of what appears as a prophecy of utter annihilation. There have been other cases in Jeremiah where a universal affirmation (either positive or negative) has been modified in the verses that follow. The verb in the second line תִּבְטָחוּ (tivtakhu) is highly unusual; it is a second masculine plural form with a feminine plural subject. The form is explained in GKC 127-28 §47.k and 160-61 §60.a, n. 1 as a pausal substitution for the normal form תִּבְטַחְנָה (tivtakhnah) and a similar form in Ezek 37:7 cited as a parallel.

[23:14]  ¹⁷ tc The most important mss (א B D L Z Θ Ë¹ 33 892* pc and several versional witnesses) do not have 23:14 “Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ property, and as a show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive a more severe punishment.” Part or all of the verse is contained (either after v. 12 or after v. 13) in W 0102 0107 ˹³ Ï and several versions, but it is almost certainly not original. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. Note also that Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 are very similar in wording and are not disputed textually.

[7:12]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[7:12]  ¹⁹ tn That is, carried out for burial. This was a funeral procession.

[7:12]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and she.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) has been translated as a relative clause for the sake of English style.

[7:12]  ²¹ sn The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.

[7:12]  ²² tn Or “city.”

[6:1]  ²³ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ²⁷ sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[9:39]  ³⁰ tn Grk “who.” The relative clause makes for awkward English style here, so the following clause was made coordinate with the conjunction “and” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun.

[9:39]  ³¹ tn The participle παραγενόμενον (paragenomenon) is taken temporally.

[9:39]  ³² tn Grk “and all.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[9:39]  ³³ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[9:39]  ³⁴ tn Or “shirts” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.

[9:39]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and garments,” referring here to other types of clothing besides the tunics just mentioned.

[9:39]  ³⁶ tn The verb ἐποίει (epoiei) has been translated as a customary imperfect.

[1:27]  ³⁷ tn Or “in the sight of”; Grk “with.”

[1:27]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the God and Father.”