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OET (OET-RV) An elder who has led well should be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who work hard in studying and teaching the message,![]()
OET-LV The elders having_led well, let_be_being_considered_worthy of_double honour, most_of_all the ones labouring in the_message and the_teaching.
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SR-GNT Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι, διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν, μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ. ‡
(Hoi kalōs proestōtes presbuteroi, diplaʸs timaʸs axiousthōsan, malista hoi kopiōntes en logōi kai didaskalia.)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT Let the elders having led well be considered worthy of double honor, especially the ones toiling in word and teaching.
UST The leaders who rightly direct believers deserve to have those believers respect them and take care of them. The leaders who work hard to proclaim the good news and instruct others about it particularly deserve that.
BSB Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
MSB (Same as BSB above)
BLB Let the elders ruling well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those laboring in the word and the teaching.
AICNT Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.
OEB Those church elders who fill their office well should be held deserving of especial consideration, particularly those whose work lies in preaching and teaching.
WEBBE Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and in teaching.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching.
LSV Let them, the well-leading elders, be counted worthy of double honor, especially those laboring in word and teaching,
FBV Elders who direct the church well should be seen as doubly valuable,[fn] particularly those who work in speaking the Word and in teaching.
5:17 Or “should receive adequate pay.”
TCNT Elders who lead well should be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
T4T Each congregation should pay well the elders who lead well. They should greatly honor them, especially those who preach and those who teach.
LEB ¶ The elders who lead well must be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor by speaking and teaching.
BBE Let rulers whose rule is good be honoured twice over, specially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
Moff Presbyters who are efficient presidents are to be considered worthy of ample remuneration, particularly those who have the task of preaching and teaching:
Wymth Let the Elders who perform their duties wisely and well be held worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching.
ASV Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.
DRA Let the priests that rule well, be esteemed worthy of double honour: especially they who labour in the word and doctrine:
YLT The well-leading elders of double honour let them be counted worthy, especially those labouring in word and teaching,
Drby Let the elders who take the lead [among the saints] well be esteemed worthy of double honour, specially those labouring in word and teaching;
RV Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and in teaching.
SLT Let the elders having presided well be deemed worthy of double honour, chiefly they being wearied in word and doctrine.
Wbstr Let the elders that rule well, be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.
KJB-1769 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
KJB-1611 Let the Elders that rule well, be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
(Same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)
Bshps The elders that rule well are worthy of double honour, most speciallye they which labour in the worde & teachyng.
(The elders that rule well are worthy of double honour, most speciallye they which labour in the word and teaching.)
Gnva The Elders that rule well, let them be had in double honour, specially they which labour in the worde and doctrine,
(The Elders that rule well, let them be had in double honour, specially they which labour in the word and doctrine, )
Cvdl The Elders that rule well, are worthy of double honoure, most specially they which laboure in the worde & in teachinge.
(The Elders that rule well, are worthy of double honour, most specially they which labour in the word and in teaching.)
TNT The elders that rule wel are worthy of double honoure most specially they which laboure in the worde and in teachinge.
(The elders that rule well are worthy of double honour most specially they which labour in the word and in teaching. )
Wycl The prestis that ben wel gouernoures, be thei had worthi to double onour; moost thei that trauelen in word and teching.
(The priests that been well governors, be they had worthy to double honour; most they that travelen in word and teaching.)
Luth Die Ältesten, die wohl vorstehen, die halte man zwiefacher Ehre wert, sonderlich die da arbeiten im Wort und in der Lehre.
(The elders, the probably/well before/in_front_ofstehen, the hold/stop man doublyer honour(n) value/worth, particularly/especially the there work(v) in_the word and in the/of_the teaching.)
ClVg Qui bene præsunt presbyteri, duplici honore digni habeantur: maxime qui laborant in verbo et doctrina.[fn]
(Who well they_are_in_charge presbyteri, double with_honour worthy let_them_haveur: especially/most who/which they_work_hard in/into/on word and teaching/instruction. )
5.17 Qui bene. De honore presbyterorum hic agit, quasi dicat: Illud quod dixi de viduis observa: et hoc etiam præcipe de presbyteris, ut presbyteri, qui bene præsunt vita et doctrina, digni habeantur.
5.17 Who well. From/About with_honour presbyterorum this/here acts, as_if let_him_say: Illud that I_said from/about viduis observa: and this also command from/about presbyteris, as presbyteri, who/which well they_are_in_charge life and teaching/instruction, worthy let_them_haveur.
UGNT οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι, διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν, μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ.
(hoi kalōs proestōtes presbuteroi, diplaʸs timaʸs axiousthōsan, malista hoi kopiōntes en logōi kai didaskalia.)
SBL-GNT Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν, μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ·
(Hoi kalōs proestōtes presbuteroi diplaʸs timaʸs axiousthōsan, malista hoi kopiōntes en logōi kai didaskalia;)
RP-GNT Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν, μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ.
(Hoi kalōs proestōtes presbuteroi diplaʸs timaʸs axiousthōsan, malista hoi kopiōntes en logōi kai didaskalia.)
TC-GNT Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν, μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ.
(Hoi kalōs proestōtes presbuteroi diplaʸs timaʸs axiousthōsan, malista hoi kopiōntes en logōi kai didaskalia. )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).
5:17-25 Elders: As in Judaism, community leaders (see also 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9) were usually older men who were leaders in the wider community. The letters to Timothy and Titus recognize an office of elders, as here (see also 1 Tim 4:14; Titus 1:5), but the word is also used generally for older men in the community (as in 1 Tim 5:1).
Paul said that the believers should respect their leaders. They should give them money or other things to help them.
Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor,
¶ Elders who are leading the church well deserve double respect,
¶ The believers should respect and generously help those who lead well,
Elders: This term refers to leaders of local groups of believers. The word “overseers” in 3:1b and 3:2a probably refers to the same people. See also the note on 3:8a.
who lead effectively: If you need to say who these elders are leading, you could say, “the church” to indicate the specific context in which these elders direct and lead.
are worthy of: That is, deserve.
double honor: The expression that the BSB translates as double honor could mean either:
that believers should honor the elders in two ways: by respecting them and by helping them materially.
that believers should honor the elders by helping them materially twice as much as they help other leaders. For example, the CEV says:
deserve to be paid twice as much (CEV, GNT, NLT, REB, probably the NJB)
Most English versions translate this phrase literally and therefore are ambiguous. If you can translate this verse in a way that can allow both these interpretations, you should do so. However, if you must be explicit, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).Fee, pages 128 and 129, says, “It is clear from verse 18 that honor (see on v. 3) here includes at least pay. But it is highly unlikely that double honor means “double pay” (as cash), implying either twice as much as others who do not teach or twice as much as the widows. Rather it means “twofold honor,” the honor and respect due those in such positions as well as remuneration.” When Paul talked about double honor, he was talking about two different ways in which believers should honor the elders. He did not mean that believers should give the elders twice the material rewards they gave other people.
honor: The Greek word that the BSB translates as honor is closely related to the Greek word that the BSB translates as “honor” in 5:3. In 5:3, Paul was talking primarily about honoring widows by ensuring that they had the material things that they needed. In 5:18, Paul also talked about material help. The GNT shows this by translating honor as “pay.”
especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
especially those who have been given the task of preaching and teaching.
particularly those who teach and who preach God’s message.
especially: The Greek word malista that the BSB translates as especially means “particularly,” “above all.” It seems to suggest that there were different kinds of elders among the Ephesian elders. Some preached and taught, but others may have done other things, like visit sick people. Paul was saying that believers should especially honor the elders who preached and taught.
preaching: The Greek word that the BSB translates as preaching refers to announcing an important message. In this context, it refers to encouraging and urging people to obey God.
teaching: In this context, teaching refers to teaching people about God.
In some languages, it may be more logical to reverse the order of the verbs and translate this part of the verse:
especially those whose work is teaching people about God and telling them to obey him.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι & ἀξιούσθωσαν
the_‹ones› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καί διδασκαλίᾳ)
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 elders having led well must be considered worthy]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι & ἀξιούσθωσαν
the_‹ones› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καί διδασκαλίᾳ)
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 who would do the action, it is clear from the context that it would be the believers whom these elders have led. Alternate translation: [The believers should consider the elders having led them well to be worthy]
προεστῶτες
˓having˒_led
Alternate translation: [having managed] or [having taken care]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
διπλῆς τιμῆς
˱of˲_double honor
Here, the phrase double honor could refer to: (1) two different kinds of honor, respect and payment. Alternate translation: [of both honor and payment] (2) a large amount of honor. Alternate translation: [of much honor] (3) double the honor or payment given to other people whom the church supported. Alternate translation: [of double the honor given to others] or [of double the payment that is given to others]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
διπλῆς τιμῆς
˱of˲_double honor
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of honor, you could express the same idea in another way. Make sure that your translation fits with the option you chose in the previous note. Alternate translation: [of being honored in both ways] or [of being both honored and paid]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
λόγῳ
˓the˒_word
Here, word represents what these elders preach using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [preaching]