Timotheum I 5
1 Seniorem ne increpaveris, sed obsecra ut patrem: juvenes, ut fratres:
Do not reprimand an older man, but plead with him as if he were your father. Treat the young men as brothers,
2 anus, ut matres: juvenculas, ut sorores in omni castitate:
the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters – with all purity.
3 viduas honora, quæ vere viduæ sunt.
Show consideration for widows – I mean those who are really widowed.
4 Si qua autem vidua filios, aut nepotes habet: discat primum domum suam regere, et mutuam vicem reddere parentibus: hoc enim acceptum est coram Deo.
But, if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to show proper regard for the members of their own family first, and to make some return to their parents; for that is pleasing in God’s sight.
5 Quæ autem vere vidua est, et desolata, speret in Deum, et instet obsecrationibus, et orationibus nocte ac die.
As for the woman who is really widowed and left quite alone, her hopes are fixed on God, and she devotes herself to prayers and supplications night and day.
6 Nam quæ in deliciis est, vivens mortua est.
But the life of a widow who is devoted to pleasure is a living death.
7 Et hoc præcipe, ut irreprehensibiles sint.
Those are the points you should teach, so that there may be no call for your censure.
8 Si quis autem suorum, et maxime domesticorum, curam non habet, fidem negavit, et est infideli deterior.
Anyone who fails to provide for their own relatives, and especially for those under their own roof, has disowned the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 Vidua eligatur non minus sexaginta annorum, quæ fuerit unius viri uxor,
A widow, when her name is added to the list, should not be less than sixty years old; she should have been a faithful wife,
10 in operibus bonis testimonium habens, si filios educavit, si hospitio recepit, si sanctorum pedes lavit, si tribulationem patientibus subministravit, si omne opus bonum subsecuta est.
and be well spoken of for her kind actions. She should have brought up children, have shown hospitality to strangers, have washed the feet of her fellow Christians, have relieved those who were in distress, and devoted herself to every kind of good action.
11 Adolescentiores autem viduas devita: cum enim luxuriatæ fuerint in Christo, nubere volunt:
But you should exclude the younger widows from the list; for, when they grow restive under the yoke of the Christ, they want to marry,
12 habentes damnationem, quia primam fidem irritam fecerunt;
and so they bring condemnation on themselves for having broken their previous promise.
13 simul autem et otiosæ discunt circuire domos: non solum otiosæ, sed et verbosæ, et curiosæ, loquentes quæ non oportet.
And not only that, but they learn to be idle as they go about from house to house. Nor are they merely idle, but they also become gossips and busybodies, and talk of what they ought not.
14 Volo ergo juniores nubere, filios procreare, matresfamilias esse, nullam occasionem dare adversario maledicti gratia.
Therefore I advise young widows to marry, bear children, and attend to their homes, and so avoid giving the enemy an opportunity for scandal.
15 Jam enim quædam conversæ sunt retro Satanam.
There are some who have already left us, to follow Satan.
16 Si quis fidelis habet viduas, subministret illis, et non gravetur ecclesia: ut iis quæ vere viduæ sunt, sufficiat.
Any Christian woman, who has relatives who are widows, ought to relieve them and not allow them to become a burden to the church, so that the church may relieve those widows who are really widowed.
17 Qui bene præsunt presbyteri, duplici honore digni habeantur: maxime qui laborant in verbo et doctrina.
Those church elders who fill their office well should be held deserving of especial consideration, particularly those whose work lies in preaching and teaching.
18 Dicit enim Scriptura: Non alligabis os bovi trituranti. Et: Dignus est operarius mercede sua.
The words of scripture are – “You should not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain.” and again – “The worker is worth their wages.”
19 Adversus presbyterum accusationem noli recipere, nisi sub duobus aut tribus testibus.
Do not entertain a charge against an church elder, unless it is supported by two or three witnesses;
20 Peccantes coram omnibus argue: ut et ceteri timorem habeant.
but rebuke offenders publicly, so that others may take warning.
21 Testor coram Deo et Christo Jesu, et electis angelis, ut hæc custodias sine præjudicio, nihil faciens in alteram partem declinando.
I charge you solemnly, before God and Christ Jesus and the chosen angels, to carry out these directions, unswayed by prejudice, never acting with partiality.
22 Manus cito nemini imposueris, neque communicaveris peccatis alienis. Teipsum castum custodi.
Never ordain anyone hastily, and take no part in the wrongdoing of others. Keep your life pure.
23 Noli adhuc aquam bibere, sed modico vino utere propter stomachum tuum, et frequentes tuas infirmitates.
Do not continue to drink water only, but take a little wine because of the weakness of your stomach, and your frequent ailments.
24 Quorumdam hominum peccata manifesta sunt, præcedentia ad judicium: quosdam autem et subsequuntur.
There are some people whose sins are conspicuous and lead on to judgment, while there are others whose sins dog their steps.
25 Similiter et facta bona, manifesta sunt: et quæ aliter se habent, abscondi non possunt.
In the same way noble deeds become conspicuous, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.
