NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
1 Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers.
2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.
3 Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her.
4 But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God.
5 Now a true widow, a woman who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. She prays night and day, asking God for his help.
6 But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives.
7 Give these instructions to the church so that no one will be open to criticism.
8 But 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.
9 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.
10 She 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?
11 The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry.
12 Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge.
13 And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t.
14 So I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children, and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them.
15 For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan.
16 If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.
17 Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching.
18 For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!”
19 Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses.
20 Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.
21 I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone.
22 Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23 Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.
24 Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later.
25 In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.
GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION
1 Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as if he were your father. Treat the younger men as your brothers,
2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, with all purity.
3 Show respect for widows who really are all alone.
4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn first to carry out their religious duties toward their own family and in this way repay their parents and grandparents, because that is what pleases God.
5 A widow who is all alone, with no one to take care of her, has placed her hope in God and continues to pray and ask him for his help night and day.
6 But a widow who gives herself to pleasure has already died, even though she lives.
7 Give them these instructions, so that no one will find fault with them.
8 But if any do not take care of their relatives, especially the members of their own family, they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.
9 Do not add any widow to the list of widows unless she is over sixty years of age. In addition, she must have been married only once
10 and have a reputation for good deeds: a woman who brought up her children well, received strangers in her home, performed humble duties for other Christians, helped people in trouble, and devoted herself to doing good.
11 But do not include younger widows in the list; because when their desires make them want to marry, they turn away from Christ,
12 and so become guilty of breaking their earlier promise to him.
13 They also learn to waste their time in going around from house to house; but even worse, they learn to be gossips and busybodies, talking of things they should not.
14 So I would prefer that the younger widows get married, have children, and take care of their homes, so as to give our enemies no chance of speaking evil of us.
15 For some widows have already turned away to follow Satan.
16 But if any Christian woman has widows in her family, she must take care of them and not put the burden on the church, so that it may take care of the widows who are all alone.
17 The elders who do good work as leaders should be considered worthy of receiving double pay, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
18 For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain” and “Workers should be given their pay.”
19 Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or more witnesses.
20 Rebuke publicly all those who commit sins, so that the rest may be afraid.
21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the holy angels I solemnly call upon you to obey these instructions without showing any prejudice or favor to anyone in anything you do.
22 Be in no hurry to lay hands on people to dedicate them to the Lord's service. Take no part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
23 Do not drink water only, but take a little wine to help your digestion, since you are sick so often.
24 The sins of some people are plain to see, and their sins go ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others are seen only later.
25 In the same way good deeds are plainly seen, and even those that are not so plain cannot be hidden.
