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OET (OET-LV) If any believing woman is_having widows, he _let_be_assisting to_them, and not let_be_being_weighed_down the assembly, in_order_that it_may_assist to_the really widows.
OET (OET-RV) If any believing woman has widowed relatives, they should continue to help them and not burden the assembly, so then the assembly can assist the really needy widows.
In 5:16 Paul summarized what he had been teaching about widows in the earlier part of the chapter. Use a natural way in your language to indicate that this is a summary. For example, you could start the verse with a phrase like:
I say again…
If any believing woman has dependent widows,
¶ If any woman who believes in Christ has widows in her family,
¶ So, women who believe in Christ who have any widows in their family
If any believing woman has dependent widows: Some of the older translations, like the KJV, say “man or woman,” instead of only saying “woman.” The KJV says, “If any man or woman that believeth have widows….” However, “woman” is probably the correct text. The Editorial Committee of the UBS New Testament (4 th edition) gives the reading “believing woman” a {C} rating, indicating that the Committee had difficulty in deciding which variant to place in the text. Metzger, page 642, says, “…a majority of the Committee, observing that the shorter reading is somewhat better attested than the longer reading, regarded the latter as a natural expansion made by copyists who, in light of ver. 4, felt that a restriction of the principle of this verse to Christian women was unfair.” Paul knew that some of the believing women in Ephesus had widows in their families. Therefore, in some languages, it will not be possible to use an “if” clause here. If that is true in your language, you could say:
Believing women who have widows in their families should…
believing woman: Paul only mentioned women believers here. However, 5:8 makes it clear that men also had this duty. See the note on 5:8a.
dependent widows: Paul used widows(plur) here because a woman might have more than one widow to care for. For example, she may need to care for her mother, her mother-in-law and her grandmother.
she must assist them
she should be the one to help them
should care for them.
and not allow the church to be burdened,
and not expect the other believers to take that responsibility.
They should not leave it to the other believers to provide for them.
not allow the church to be burdened: This phrase indicates that believers should not need to care for widows who had families of their own. A literal translation would be difficult in many languages. Some ways that may make the meaning clearer are, For example:
it is not right for her to ask the church to take care of them
she should not give the church the responsibility of providing for the widows in her family
church: The Greek word that the BSB translates as church does not refer to a church building, but to all true believers. Together they form the assembly or community of God’s people. Avoid using a term that might suggest that Paul was referring to a building. Some ways to translate the term church are:
the assembly of God’s people
the community of God’s people
God’s family
God’s people
See also the notes on 3:5b and 3:15c.
so that it can help the widows who are truly in need.
This is so that the community of believers can help the widows who really need it.
Then the other believers will be able to provide for those widows who have no one else to help them.
so that it can help the widows who are truly in need: This part of the verse tells the purpose for which Paul gave his command in the rest of 5:16. He wanted to ensure that the believers had enough resources to help the widows who had no family.
it: Here, the pronoun it refers to the church. See the note on 5:16c.
the widows who are truly in need: This is the same phrase that was used in 5:3.
Note 1 topic: translate-textvariants
πιστὴ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τὶς πιστή ἔχει χήρας ἐπαρκείσθω αὐταῖς καί μή βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία ἵνα ταῖς ὄντως χήραις ἐπαρκέσῃ)
Many ancient manuscripts read believing woman. The ULT follows that reading. Other ancient manuscripts read “believing man or woman.” If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of the ULT.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἔχει χήρας
˓is˒_having widows
The implication is that she has widows within her extended family. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [has relatives who are widows]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
ἐπαρκείτω
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τὶς πιστή ἔχει χήρας ἐπαρκείσθω αὐταῖς καί μή βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία ἵνα ταῖς ὄντως χήραις ἐπαρκέσῃ)
If your language does not use the third-person imperative in this way, you could state this in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [she must aid]
Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
καὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τὶς πιστή ἔχει χήρας ἐπαρκείσθω αὐταῖς καί μή βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία ἵνα ταῖς ὄντως χήραις ἐπαρκέσῃ)
Here, the word and introduces what the intended result is when believing women aid the widows in their own families. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces an intended result. Alternate translation: [and so] or [and thus]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
μὴ βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τὶς πιστή ἔχει χήρας ἐπαρκείσθω αὐταῖς καί μή βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία ἵνα ταῖς ὄντως χήραις ἐπαρκέσῃ)
Paul speaks of the church having to help more widows than it is able to help as if it were carrying too much weight on its back. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [let the church not have more work than it can do] or [let the church not have to support widows whose families could provide for them]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
μὴ βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τὶς πιστή ἔχει χήρας ἐπαρκείσθω αὐταῖς καί μή βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία ἵνα ταῖς ὄντως χήραις ἐπαρκέσῃ)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say what would do the action, it is clear from the context that it would be supporting widows who have family members who could support them instead. Alternate translation: [let supporting those widows not weigh down the church]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
μὴ βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ τὶς πιστή ἔχει χήρας ἐπαρκείσθω αὐταῖς καί μή βαρείσθω ἡ ἐκκλησία ἵνα ταῖς ὄντως χήραις ἐπαρκέσῃ)
If your language does not use the third-person imperative in this way, you could state this in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [the church must not be weighed down]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ταῖς ὄντως χήραις
˱to˲_the really widows
Here Paul again defines the kind of widow to which he is particularly referring. As in [5:3](../05/03.md), the word real indicates that these women are not only widows but also have no close relatives to support them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [the widows who have no one else to provide for them] or [the widows with no family left]
5:16 Individual Christian households maintained their function and identity within the church (cp. 2:15; 3:15). They were not eclipsed by the church, although the household of God is primary to the identity of the believing community (see Mark 3:31-35).
OET (OET-LV) If any believing woman is_having widows, he _let_be_assisting to_them, and not let_be_being_weighed_down the assembly, in_order_that it_may_assist to_the really widows.
OET (OET-RV) If any believing woman has widowed relatives, they should continue to help them and not burden the assembly, so then the assembly can assist the really needy widows.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.