1 Timothy 5:3–8, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Timothy 5:3–8
Honor Vulnerable Widows and Require Capable Families to Provide
Honor widows who are actually unsupported, and do not dump them
Honor widows who are truly widows. Honor here is material care, not polite words. If a widow has children or grandchildren, they are first to learn godliness at home and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in God's sight. The widow who is left all alone has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. The letter is triaging limited resources. It is not ranking human worth.
She who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives is a severe moral contrast, not a license to shame grief, rest, mental illness, or a woman seeking safety. Anyone who does not provide for relatives, and especially for household members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Capable families should not offload care onto the church. The church still may not abandon a widow because relatives are abusive, poor, disabled, estranged, absent, or unwilling. Forced caregiving and unsafe cohabitation are not obedience.
How this should shape us
Find out who is actually without support, then put money, food, and presence there. Ask relatives to help only within safety and real capacity. Do not use this paragraph to send a woman back to a household that harms her.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Timothy 5:3–8 in your own words. Include its place in 1 Timothy's movement, the unit's logic, one material uncertainty, and one misuse the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters differ over how formal the support arrangement was and how sharply verse 6 addresses specific behavior. The priority of unsupported need and capable household responsibility is clear.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
1 Timothy 5:3–8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, morphology targets, and base text for original-language discussion.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/1Tim.txt, 5:3–8
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, textual alternatives, and interpretive notes.
NET Bible official 1 Timothy PDF, 5:3–8 translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Historical-critical orientation, authorship and date alternatives, opponent limits, office and widow uncertainty, gender, slavery, wealth, and whole-letter theology.
Enter the Bible 1 Timothy course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to 1 Timothy 5:3–8
Supports: Direct-Pauline alternative, rhetorical whole-letter flow, verse exposition, office, gender, care, wealth, and confessional application.
Jeon, '1 Timothy,' section covering 5:3–8, plus Authority and Audience, Purpose, outline, bibliography, and endnotes
Supports: Full-letter historical exegesis, Greek and KJV-language notes, unit boundaries, historical alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Lock, ICC Pastoral Epistles PDF, 1 Timothy introduction printed pp. 1–4 and commentary printed pp. 56–59
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for 1 Timothy 5:3–8
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Timothy 5:3–8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, morphology targets, and base text for original-language discussion.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/1Tim.txt, 5:3–8
Open the 1 Timothy Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — 1 Timothy with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, textual alternatives, and interpretive notes.
Exact location: NET Bible official 1 Timothy PDF, 5:3–8 translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Timothy PDF ↗modern scholarly book introduction
1 Timothy course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Arland J. Hultgren; revised by Mary Hinkle Shore
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision
Supports: Historical-critical orientation, authorship and date alternatives, opponent limits, office and widow uncertainty, gender, slavery, wealth, and whole-letter theology.
Exact location: Enter the Bible 1 Timothy course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to 1 Timothy 5:3–8
Open source ↗modern open commentary
1 Timothy
Paul Jeon
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Direct-Pauline alternative, rhetorical whole-letter flow, verse exposition, office, gender, care, wealth, and confessional application.
Exact location: Jeon, '1 Timothy,' section covering 5:3–8, plus Authority and Audience, Purpose, outline, bibliography, and endnotes
Open source ↗public domain critical commentary
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles
Walter Lock
T&T Clark, International Critical Commentary, 1924
Supports: Full-letter historical exegesis, Greek and KJV-language notes, unit boundaries, historical alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Exact location: Lock, ICC Pastoral Epistles PDF, 1 Timothy introduction printed pp. 1–4 and commentary printed pp. 56–59
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for 1 Timothy 5:3–8
Open source ↗