I instruct you how to act toward various groups in the church.

1Do not rebuke/scold older men. Instead, exhort/advise them respectfully as you would exhort/advise your father. Exhort/advise younger men gently as you would exhort/advise your brothers.

2Exhort/advise older women respectfully as you would exhort/advise your mother. Exhort/advise younger women gently as you would exhort/advise your sisters; but you must act in a completely proper way as you do that.

3Make sure that the congregation takes care of widows who have no one to care for them.

4If a widow has children or grandchildren, these children or grandchildren should learn that they are to take care of their own family first. By doing that they can repay their parents and grandparents for all that they did for them when they were young, because doing that pleases God.

5The widows who are really alone and have no one to help them confidently expect that God will help them. So night and day they pray, earnestly asking [DOU] God that he will help them and others.

6But widows who just want to have a lot of pleasure are spiritually [MET] dead, although they are physically alive.

7And tell the congregation that the children or grandchildren should do these things in order that no one can ◄criticize the believers/say that the believers are doing anything that is wrong►.

8If anyone does not take care of those who live in his own house, and especially if he does not take care of his own family, he has ◄denied/quit believing► what we believe and we should consider that he is worse than a person who does not believe in Christ.

9You have a list of widows who will do work for the congregation and receive money. Put women’s names on the list only if they are more than 60 years old, and if they were faithful to their husbands.

10Put women’s names on that list only if it is known that they have wholeheartedly done every kind of good deed, if they have helped children who were afflicted/suffering, if they have ◄brought up/cared for► their children properly/well, if they have welcomed and cared for guests, and if they have humbly served [MTY] other believers.

11As for younger widows, do not put their names on that list, because they promise to do work for the congregation, but instead of doing that, they usually want to marry again (OR, marry an unbeliever) when they have a strong desire to get married.

12If that happens, they may become guilty of not having done what they had promised to do for the congregation (OR, promised Christ that they would do.)

13In addition, they generally become lazy. Specifically, as they just go about from house to house, they also begin ◄to gossip/to talk about people► and to meddle in other people’s affairs, saying what they should not say.

14So I advise that instead of putting the names of younger widows on the list, they marry again, that they bear/have children, that they manage their homes well, and that they do nothing for which an enemy can say bad things about them.

15I say this because some younger widows have stopped obeying Christ in order to obey Satan.

16If any woman who believes in Christ has widows in her household/family, she should take care of them. The congregation should not be burdened by having {She should not depend on the congregation} to take care of their needs. The congregation should take care of the widows who truly have no one to care for them.

17Each congregation should pay well the elders who lead well. They should greatly honor them, especially those who preach and those who teach.

18Long ago Moses wrote in the Scriptures, “While an ox is threshing grain, you must not tie its mouth so that it cannot eat the grain,” and Jesus said, “People should pay those who work for their benefit.” So we know that congregations should support their leaders.

19When some person accuses an elder about doing wrong, accept what he says only if there are at least two or three persons who ◄testify/say that► they saw him do that wrong.

20But as for any elder who repeatedly sins, rebuke him before the whole congregation, in order that the rest of the elders will be afraid to sin.

21I solemnly tell you that as you keep in mind that God and Christ Jesus and the holy angels know everything that you do, obey these commands about elders! As you consider what others say about an elder doing wrong, do not easily/quickly decide that what they say is true. And treat them all equally.

22Do not be in a hurry to put your hands on a man ◄to set him apart/to appoint him► as an elder. Wait until you have examined him to see how he conducts his life, because God will consider that you are responsible if you approve a person who sins, saying that he should become an elder. Keep your life pure in every way.

23And Timothy, no longer drink only water, but instead, drink a little wine also, because that may help to cure your stomach’s frequent illnesses.

24I tell you not ◄to set apart/appoint► elders hastily, without seeing how they conduct their lives, because some people sin secretly, so that it is not known what they have done until after someone examines them (OR, before God judges them). But some people sin openly, so that people know what they have done before anyone examines them.

25Similarly, although some people do good things openly, with the result that people know what they have done, some people do good things secretly, yet the good things that they have done cannot remain secret either.