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1 Timothy 5:2-4
New Catholic Bible
1 Timothy 5:2-4
New Catholic Bible
2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with the greatest purity.
Widows.[a] 3 Give proper consideration to those widows who are truly in need. 4 If a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to carry out their religious duty to their own family and repay their debt to their parents, for this is pleasing in the eyes of God.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 5:3 In reading this passage, the circumstances of the period and concrete conditions in the community must be taken into account. Different types of widows are discussed. Some have a family; in their case, the accent is placed upon a true exchange on the family level. Other widows are all alone; they can serve the Church and are taken into her care.
When he speaks of young widows, the author cannot resist injecting a caricatural trait; he refuses to let them engage in the exclusive service of Christ and the Church out of fear that later events in their existence may take away their initial enthusiasm. It seems that some communities had the bad experience of premature vows. (1 Corinthians 7:9, 40 exhibited much less distrust in such cases.) It is interesting to note the existence of organized groups of widows in the community.
