1 Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters with all purity.
The Support of Widows
3 Support widows t who are genuinely in need. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents, for this pleases God. 5 The widow who is truly in need and left all alone has put her hope in God u and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers; 6 however, she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. v 7 Command this also, so that they will be above reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide w for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith x and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 No widow is to be enrolled on the list for support unless she is at least sixty years old, has been the wife of one husband, 10 and is well known for good works y—that is, if she has brought up children, shown hospitality, z washed the saints’ feet, a helped the afflicted, b and devoted herself to every good work. c 11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they are drawn away from Christ by desire, they want to marry d 12 and will therefore receive condemnation e because they have renounced their original pledge. 13 At the same time, they also learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips f and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say. 14 Therefore, I want younger women to marry, g have children, manage their households, and give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us. h 15 For some have already turned away i to follow Satan. 16 If any believing woman has widows in her family, let her help them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it can help widows in genuine need.
Honoring the Elders
17 The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard j at preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, ,k and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.” l
19 Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. m 20 Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will be afraid. 21 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe n these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism. 22 Don’t be too quick to appoint ,o anyone as an elder, and don’t share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. p 23 Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. 24 Some people’s sins are obvious, preceding them to judgment, q but the sins of others surface later. 25 Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.
A. Widows and female benefactors (5:3–16). 5:3–8. The first part of this section treats widows whose poverty qualifies them to come under the care of the church. Even though the church is to think of itself as a family (see 3:15), the church is not a substitute for families. If there are children or grandchildren of a widow, these family members show their godliness (this is also the sense of 5:8) and their sense of justice (“repay their parents”) by providing for their own widowed grandmothers and mothers (5:4).
5:9–16. The second part of this section treats widows whose record of ministry qualifies them for something like an office parallel to that of overseer or deacon (see 3:1–7, 8–13). Like deacons, who are to be tested (3:10), these widows are to be installed after it has been established that their lives consist in “good works” (5:10). This is the kind of faithful woman who, even in her own widowhood, helps “widows in her family” (5:16). Dorcas (known as Tabitha), the patroness of widows in Joppa, is an example of the care-providing woman that Paul envisions in this passage; she is one who was “doing good works and acts of charity” rather than receiving them (Ac 9:36). The grief at Dorcas’s death by the widows who benefited from her kindness (Ac 9:39) is testimony to how important this role was in the early church. Paul wants to make sure that only suitably mature women are enrolled to this office. Younger widows are encouraged, instead, to take up new families rather than to risk reneging on their commitment to Christ and to those who would be dependent on them (5:11–15).
5:17–18. Skill in administration is vital to the life of God’s household, and Paul’s placing this section next to the widows’ passage suggests that some of the difficulties in Ephesus were a result of a breakdown in administration. However, even more necessary is the ability to teach. Thus, special priority is put on “those who work hard at preaching and teaching” (5:17). Paul quotes both the OT (Dt 25:4) and Jesus himself (Lk 10:7) to underline the importance of the church’s support of a leadership that is independent of secular social, economic, and political clout (5:18).
5:19–21. Even though the church in Ephesus is in a major Hellenistic city, Paul expects it to take its bearings from the OT and from Jewish community life. Paul invokes the OT (Dt 19:15) to protect elders from false accusations (5:19). He is concerned about due process and avoiding favoritism (5:20–21).
5:22–25. Paul requires that mature believers, not recent converts, be placed in leadership in the church at Ephesus (unlike the church in Crete, which was a missionary setting). The temptation is to elevate too quickly either people whose secular power and prestige mask hidden agendas, or people whose glib tongues mask spiritual infancy or sinister motives (5:22). As if the stress that the relatively young Timothy is under in confronting an entrenched and socially powerful opposition weren’t enough, Timothy has developed stomach problems and is frequently ill, for which Paul prescribes “a little wine” (5:23; see Pr 31:6).