1 Timothy 5:3
What does 1 Timothy 5:3 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Timothy 5:3 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Timothy 5:3 means
To “honor widows that are widows indeed” means to value and materially support those who are truly destitute and without family help. Honor is not mere sentiment; it includes tangible care. God’s people reflect His compassion by upholding those most vulnerable. Yet Paul signals that not every widow is to be placed on the church’s care list. The community must discern need and character. This protects resources and ensures that help reaches those who genuinely depend on God and His people. In this way the church mirrors God’s heart for the needy while exercising wise stewardship, uniting mercy with order so that compassion is both generous and responsible.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Honor widows that are widows indeed.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Honour widows that are widows indeed.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Honor widows that are widows indeed.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Give honour to widows who are truly widows.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862honour widows who are really widows;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Honour widows that are widows indeed.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Honour widows who are really widows;
Context
Having defined a holy, family-like posture, Paul turns to a pressing social concern: widows. In the ancient world widows were often economically exposed. Verse 3 introduces the category “widows indeed,” setting a distinction that will be clarified with criteria in the next verses. This verse signals that the church bears real responsibility for such women, but that responsibility must be administered carefully. What follows will differentiate between widows with family support and those without, and between godly devotion and self-indulgence.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 1 Peter 2:17
Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
- Psalms 94:6
They slay the widow and the sojourner, And murder the fatherless.
- James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
- Job 29:13
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
- Deuteronomy 14:29
and the Levite, because he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou doest.
- 1 Timothy 5:2
the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, in all purity.
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