1 Timothy 5:1

Contextual Overview

¹Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,¹ Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, ¹ Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers,¹Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather plead with him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, ¹ Don't jump all over an older cowboy who rides with you. Treat him as you would your own dad. Treat young men in your outfit like you would a brother. ¹ Do not say sharp words to one who has authority in the church, but let your talk be as to a father, and to the younger men as to brothers: ¹ Rebuke not an elder sharply, but exhort [him] as a father, younger [men] as brethren, ¹ Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, ¹ Don't rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brothers; ¹ Rebuke not an elder, but exhort him as a father, the younger men as brethren;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Rebuke: 1 Timothy 5:19, 1 Timothy 5:20, Leviticus 19:32, Deuteronomy 33:9, Galatians 2:11-14

an elder: 1 Timothy 5:17, Acts 14:23, Acts 15:4, Acts 15:6, Acts 20:17, Titus 1:5, Titus 1:6, James 5:14, 1 Peter 5:1, 2 John 1:1, 3 John 1:1, Revelation 4:4

entreat: Romans 13:7, Galatians 6:1, 2 Timothy 2:24, 2 Timothy 2:25, Philemon 1:9, Philemon 1:10, James 3:17, 1 Peter 5:5, 1 Peter 5:6

as brethren: Matthew 18:15-17, Matthew 23:8

Reciprocal: Genesis 9:23 - General Job 32:6 - I am Matthew 23:9 - call 1 Thessalonians 5:12 - and admonish 1 Timothy 6:2 - because they are brethren 1 John 2:13 - fathers

Cross-References

Genesis 2:4
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-

Genesis 2:4
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven.

Genesis 2:4
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.

Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heauens and of the earth when they were created, in the day when the Lord God made the earth and the heauens.

Genesis 2:4
This is the story about the creation of the sky and the earth. This is what happened when the Lord God made the earth and the sky.

Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

Genesis 2:4
These ben the generaciouns of heuene and of erthe, in the day wherynne the Lord God made heuene and erthe,

Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heauens, & of the earth, when they were created; in the day that the LORD God made the earth, and the heauens,

Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Rebuke not an elder,.... By whom is meant, not an elder in office, but in age; for elders by office are afterwards spoken of, and particular rules concerning them are given, 1 Timothy 5:17. Besides, an elder is here opposed, not to a private member of a church, but to young men in age; and the apostle is here giving rules to be observed in rebuking members of churches, according to their different age and sex, and not according to their office and station; and this sense is confirmed by a parallel text in Titus 2:2. Now an ancient man, a member of a church, is not to be rebuked in a sharp and severe way; the word here used signifies to smite or strike; and so the Arabic version renders it, "do not strike an elder"; meaning not with the hand, but with the tongue, giving hard words, which are as heavy blows; reproof is a smiting, and there is a gentle and a sharp one, Psalms 141:4. It is with the former, and not the latter, that man in years is to be reproved, when he is in a fault, whether with respect to doctrine or practice, as such persons may be as well as younger ones; and when they are observed to err, they should not be roughly and sharply dealt with:

but entreat him as a father; as a child should entreat a father, when he is going out of the way; give him honour and respect, fear and reverence, and persuade him to desist; entreat and beseech him to return to the right path of truth and holiness; use him as a father in Christ, that has known him that is from the beginning, and as of long standing in the church: this must be understood of lesser crimes, and not of atrocious and flagitious ones, obstinately continued in, to the great scandal of religion, and dishonour of the Gospel; for then severer methods must be used; see Isaiah 45:20. But though this is the sense of the passage, yet the argument from hence is strong, that if an elder in years, a private member, who is ancient, and in a fault, is not to be roughly used, but gently entreated, then much more an elder in office.

And the younger men as brethren; the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "as thy brethren". Timothy was a young man himself; and as he was to consider an elderly man as his father, and use him accordingly; so he was to consider young men as equal with him, at least in age, and take the more freedom with them, in reproving them for their faults, and use somewhat more authority with them; and yet consider them as brethren in Christ, and reprove them in a brotherly way, and with brotherly love.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Rebuke not an elder - The word “elder” here is not used in the sense in which it often is, to denote an officer of the church, a presbyter, but in its proper and usual sense, to denote an aged man. This is evident, because the apostle immediately mentions in contradistinction from the elder, “the younger men,” where it cannot be supposed that he refers to them as officers. The command to treat the “elder” as a “father,” also shows the same thing. By the direction not to rebuke, it is not to be supposed that the minister of the gospel is not to admonish the aged, or that he is not to show them their sins when they go astray, but that he is to do this as he would to a father. He is not to assume a harsh, dictatorial, and denunciatory manner. The precepts of religion always respect the proprieties of life, and never allow us to transgress them, even when the object is to reclaim a soul from error, and to save one who is wandering. Besides, when this is the aim, it will always be most certainly accomplished by observing the respect due to others on account of office, relation, rank, or age.

But entreat him as a father - As you would a father. That is, do not harshly denounce him. Endeavor to persuade him to lead a more holy life. One of the things for which the ancients were remarkable above most of the moderns, and for which the Orientals are still distinguished, was respect for age. Few things are enjoined with more explicitness and emphasis in the Bible than this; Leviticus 19:32; Job 29:0; Proverbs 20:20; Proverbs 30:17; compare Daniel 7:9-10; Revelation 1:14-15. The apostle would have Timothy, and, for the same reason, every other minister of the gospel, a model of this virtue.

And the younger men as brethren - That is, treat them as you would your own brothers. Do not consider them as aliens, strangers, or enemies, but entertain toward them, even when they go astray, the kindly feelings of a brother. This refers more particularly to his private conversation with them, and to his personal efforts to reclaim them when they had fallen into sin. When these efforts were ineffectual, and they sinned openly, he was to “rebuke them before all” 1 Timothy 5:20, that others might be deterred from following their example.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER V.

Rules to be observed in giving reproofs to the old and to the

young, 1, 2.

Directions concerning widows, 3-16.

Of elders that rule well, 17, 18.

How to proceed against elders when accused, and against

notorious offenders, 10-21.

Directions concerning imposition of hands, 22.

Concerning Timothy's health, 23.

Reasons why no person should be hastily appointed to sacred

offices, 24, 25.

NOTES ON CHAP. V

Verse 1 Timothy 5:1. Rebuke not an elder — That is, an elderly person; for the word πρεσβυτερος is here taken in its natural sense, and signifies one advanced in years. At 1 Timothy 5:17, it is taken in what may be termed its ecclesiastical meaning, and signifies, an officer in the Church, what we commonly call a presbyter or bishop; for sometimes these terms were confounded. There are but few cases in which it at all becomes a young man to reprove an old man, and especially one who is a father in the Church. If such a one does wrong, or gets out of the way, he should be entreated as a father, with great caution and respect. To this at least his age entitles him. The word επιπληξης signifies, do not smite; i.e. do not treat them harshly, nor with magisterial austerity.

The younger men as brethren — Showing humility, and arrogating nothing to thyself on account of thy office. Feel for them as thou oughtest to feel for thy own brethren.