Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Timothy 5:10 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 10. 10Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse lists childrearing, hospitality, humble service, relief, and diligent good work as the widow's public record.
Read It With
- 1 Timothy 5:9–16
Read 1 Timothy 5:10 with 5:9–16. This verse lists childrearing, hospitality, humble service, relief, and diligent good work as the widow's public record. The complete unit establishes this movement: An enrolled widow is assessed by age, marital fidelity, care, hospitality, service, and relief work; younger widows receive strongly gendered remarriage and household counsel, while believers with widowed relatives are charged to help so community resources reach those truly without support.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The letter develops resource allocation and household stability but does so through ancient age, gender, marriage, and respectability assumptions that require careful description before application. Within that movement, this verse lists childrearing, hospitality, humble service, relief, and diligent good work as the widow's public record.
Follow the Context
- Enrollment includes an age threshold and one-man-woman fidelity.
- A record of childrearing, hospitality, humble service, relief, and good work is required.
- Younger widows are refused enrollment because the writer anticipates changed marriage desires and broken commitment.
- Idleness, house-to-house movement, gossip, and meddling are warned against.
- Younger widows are counseled to marry, bear children, and manage a household.
- A believing woman with widows should help them so the community can serve those truly without support.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“diligently followed every good work”
In plain language: The enrolled widow is an experienced agent of care, not merely a passive recipient.
lists childrearing, hospitality, humble service, relief, and diligent good work as the widow's public record. Long-practiced care and hospitality deserve recognition.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the full unit and its stated limits.
How certain? strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The list does not require biological motherhood or literal foot washing from every widow.
What Remains True
Long-practiced care and hospitality deserve recognition.
How It Can Shape Life
- Credit older women's work and support their chosen service.
Teach It Back
Explain how 1 Timothy 5:10 contributes to 1 Timothy 5:9–16. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Timothy 5:9–16 — Enrollment, Good Work, and Difficult Counsel for Younger WidowsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 5:9–16, 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, 5:9–16
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, 5:9–16 translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Timothy PDF ↗