1 Timothy 5:6

1 Timothy 5:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
• New International Version (NIV)But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
• English Standard Version (ESV)but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.

Context of 1 Timothy 5:6

4If a widow has children or grandchildren, then they should take care of her. The children must help their parents or grandparents because they belong to the same family. Their parents helped them, so they need to give them something in return. The children need to learn that important lesson. It is what God's message teaches them to do and it makes God happy. 5Some widows are really alone and they have nobody to take care of them. A widow like that trusts God that he will help her. As a result, she prays a lot, at night and during the day, and she asks God to help her. But some widows only want to enjoy themselves. For a widow like that, her spirit is already dead, even while she is still alive. 7Teach everyone clearly to do these things. Then nobody can say that the believers are doing anything wrong. 8Every believer must take care of his own family. Certainly, he must do that for the people who live with him in his home. If anyone does not do that, it shows that he has refused God's true message. That person is worse than someone who does not believe in Christ.

1 Timothy 5:6 word by word

ἡ δὲ σπαταλῶσα ζῶσα τέθνηκεν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• she thatὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• liveth in pleasureσπαταλάωspatalaō · to indulgeG4684
• is deadθνῄσκωthnēskō · to die/be deadG2348
• while she livethζάωzaō · to liveG2198

Cross-references for 1 Timothy 5:6

• 1 Samuel 25:6Then give him this message: “We hope that you and your family are all well. We hope that everything you have is doing well.
• Job 21:11Their children run and play. They jump like young lambs.
• Psalms 73:5They do not have trouble like other people. They seem to have no problems.
• Isaiah 22:13But instead, you are happy and you dance! You kill cows and sheep for a feast! You eat lots of meat and you drink lots of wine. You say, ‘We will have a big feast today, because tomorrow we will be dead!’
• Amos 6:5Like King David, you play music on your harps and you sing new songs.
• Luke 12:19Then I will say to myself, ‘You have plenty of things stored safely. These will be enough for you for many years. Now you can live an easy life. Eat and drink as much as you want. Enjoy yourself.’ ”
• Luke 15:13After a few days, the younger son sold what his father had given to him. Then he took all the money and left home. He went on a long journey to a country far away. There, he did whatever he wanted to do and wasted all his money.
• Luke 16:19Jesus then said, ‘At one time, there was a rich man who wore very expensive clothes. This rich man ate big meals every day.
• James 5:5During your life here on this earth, you have had all that you wanted. You have lived like kings. You have eaten as much food as you want. So now you are like fat animals that are ready for men to kill.
• Revelation 18:7She liked to receive honour. She bought expensive things to enjoy a wicked life. So now give her the trouble and pain that she deserves. She has said to herself, “I rule people like a queen. I do not live like a widow. I will never need to be sad.”
• Deuteronomy 28:54Even the best and kindest man among you will turn against his brother. He will turn against the wife that he loves and against his children who are still alive.
• 1 Samuel 15:32Then Samuel said, ‘Bring Agag, king of the Amalekites, to me.’ Agag came to Samuel. Agag was happy because he thought, ‘I am sure that now I will not have to die a painful death.’
• Proverbs 29:21You may give a servant everything that he wants from his birth. But if you do that, he will be useless in the end.
• Isaiah 47:1‘Babylon, get down on the ground, and sit in the dirt! Come down off your throne, young lady! In the past, nobody has touched you, but people will no longer say that you are so pretty.
• Jeremiah 6:2Jerusalem is a beautiful city, like a daughter that I love. She cannot protect herself, and I will destroy her.
• Lamentations 4:5There are people here who had been very rich. They ate the best foods, but now they are hungry. Now they lie in the streets with nothing to eat. They wore the best clothes, but now they sit in the ashes.

Commentaries on 1 Timothy 5:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6But she that liveth in pleasure - ̔ · She that liveth delicately - voluptuously indulging herself with dainties; it does not indicate grossly criminal pleasures; but simply means one who indulges herself in good eating and drinking, pampering her body at the expense of her mind. The word is used in reference to what we term petted and spoiled children; and a remarkable passage, is produced by Kypke, from an epistle of Theanus to Eubulus, found in Opusc…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6But she that liveth in pleasure - Margin, “delicately.” The Greek word ( ́ spatalaō) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in James 5:5, “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth.” It properly means to live in luxury, voluptuously; to indulge freely in eating and drinking; to yield to the indulgence of the appetites. It does not indicate grossly criminal pleasures; but the kind of pleasure connected with luxurious living, and with pampering the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-8Verses 3-8 Honour widows that are widows indeed, relieve them, and maintain them. It is the duty of children, if their parents are in need, and they are able to relieve them, to do it to the utmost of their power. Widowhood is a desolate state; but let widows trust in the Lord, and continue in prayer. All who live in pleasure, are dead while they live, spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins. Alas, what numbers there are of this description among…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6but she who lives for pleasure: Some widows in Ephesus lived only for pleasure. They cared more about receiving than giving to others (see also 6:17–19; James 5:5). They did not need support.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. she that liveth in pleasure--the opposite of such a widow as is described in 1Ti 5:5, and therefore one utterly undeserving of Church charity. The Greek expresses wanton prodigality and excess [Tittmann]. The root expresses weaving at a fast rate, and so lavish excess (see on Jas 5:5). dead while she liveth--dead in the Spirit while alive in the flesh (Mt 8:22; Ep 5:14).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Timothy 5:6

• Amusements and Worldly Pleasures
• Commandments
• Death
• Minister, Christian
• Pleasure
• Widow
• Women
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• Beforehand
• Deny
• Guide
• Marry
• Reproachfully
• Requite
• Reward
• Widows
• Give
• Pleasure

Commentaries on 1 Timothy 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings