1 Timothy 5:9

1 Timothy 5:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
• New International Version (NIV)No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man,

Context of 1 Timothy 5:9

7Give these instructions to the church so that no one will be open to criticism. 8But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers. A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least sixty years old and was faithful to her husband. 10She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good? 11The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry.

1 Timothy 5:9 word by word

χήρα καταλεγέσθω μὴ ἔλαττον ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα γεγονυῖα ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς γυνή,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Letκαταλέγωkatalegō · to enrolG2639
• notμήmē · notG3361
• a widowχήραchēra · widowG5503
• underἐλάσσωνelassōn elattōn · lesserG1640
• threescoreἑξήκονταhexēkonta · sixtyG1835
• years oldἔτοςetos · yearG2094
• having beenγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• the wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• of oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• manἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435

Cross-references for 1 Timothy 5:9

• 1 Timothy 5:3Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her.
• 1 Timothy 5:11The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry.
• Luke 2:36Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.
• 1 Timothy 3:2So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.
• 1 Corinthians 7:10But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband.

Commentaries on 1 Timothy 5:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Taken into the number - Let her not be taken into the list of those for which the Church must provide. But some think that the apostle means the list of those who were deaconesses in the Church; and that no widow was to be admitted into that rank who did not answer to the following character. See on 1 Timothy 5:10; (note). Under threescore years - As it might be supposed that, previously to this age, they might be able to do something towards their own…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Let not a widow be taken into the number - Margin, “chosen.” The margin expresses the sense of the Greek more accurately, but the meaning is not materially different. Paul does not here specify into what “number” the widow is to be “taken,” or for what purpose she is to be “chosen,” but he speaks of this as a thing that was well understood. There can be no doubt, however, what he means. In the Acts of the Apostles 1 Timothy 6:1 we have this account: “And…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-16Verses 9-16 Every one brought into any office in the church, should be free from just censure; and many are proper objects of charity, yet ought not to be employed in public services. Those who would find mercy when they are in distress, must show mercy when they are in prosperity; and those who show most readiness for every good work, are most likely to be faithful in whatever is trusted to them. Those who are idle, very seldom are only idle, they make…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9at least sixty: Young widows needed a different approach (5:11–15). People were usually divided between young and old at around forty. Elderly people were probably those over fifty (see Titus 2:2). the wife of one man: The grammar is the same in 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Translate, "As a widow (that is, of the ecclesiastical order of widowhood; a kind of female presbytery), let none be enrolled (in the catalogue) who is less than sixty years old." These were not deaconesses, who were chosen at a younger age (forty was the age fixed at the Council of Chalcedon), and who had virgins (in a later age called widows) as well as widows among them, but a band of widows set apart, though not yet formally and finally, to the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Timothy 5:9

• Commandments
• Kindness
• Love
• Minister, Christian
• Poor
• Righteousness
• Widow
• Wife
• Women
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Beforehand
• Deaconess
• Deny
• Guide
• Marry
• Reproachfully
• Requite
• Reward
• Widows
• Church

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