1 Timothy 5:16-18
EasyEnglish Bible
16 A woman who believes in Christ should take care of any widows in her own family. Then the church will not have to do that work. Instead, the church will be able to help those widows who are really alone.
Leaders in the church
17 Everyone should respect leaders of the believers who lead the church well.[a] The church should also pay them properly for their work. That is certainly true for leaders who teach God's people and speak God's message to them. 18 The Bible says: ‘Do not tie shut the mouth of a bull while it walks on your wheat seeds.’[b] The Bible also says: ‘You must pay a worker what his work is worth.’
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 5:17 Paul uses a word for a leader here that is different from the word in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. It is a word meaning an older person. He may mean the same kind of leader in both places.
- 5:18 See Deuteronomy 25:4. Farmers used a bull to walk on the wheat that they had cut. They did that to remove the seeds for food. Moses' Law said that the farmer must let the bull eat some of the seeds for itself. Paul is saying that a good leader should receive something good for his work. See also Luke 10:7.
1 Timothy 5:16-18
New International Version
16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.(A)
17 The elders(B) who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor,(C) especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”[a](D) and “The worker deserves his wages.”[b](E)
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 5:18 Deut. 25:4
- 1 Timothy 5:18 Luke 10:7
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