Bible Strands
1 Timothy 5:7
Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to Timothy, instructing him to deliver specific directives to the believers regarding household conduct and church discipline. The letter addresses a moment of pastoral correction immediately following warnings about widows and family responsibility.
The words — The Greek verb παράγγελλε (parangelle) literally means "do command" or "issue a formal directive," paired with the adjective ἀνεπίλημπτοι (anepilēmptoi), meaning "above reproach." The text explicitly commands believers to live blamelessly before any application is drawn.
The thread — This command structure runs through Paul’s other pastoral letters, where he charges leaders to "command and teach these things" (1 Timothy 4:11), "speak these things with all authority" (Titus 2:15), and "charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 4:1). The consistent pattern treats ethical directives as binding church orders.
Why it lands — The text requires believers to align their conduct with explicit apostolic standards so their lives withstand moral scrutiny. It demands immediate obedience to the directive, not personal interpretation of its application.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 4:11 Command and teach these things.
- Titus 2:15 Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
- 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:
- Titus 1:13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith
- 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines
- 1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.