1 Timothy 5:1

1 Don't be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers.

1 Timothy 5:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 1. Rebuke not an elder
By whom is meant, not an elder1 Timothy 5:2

The elder women as mothers
When they offend in any point, they are to be reasoned, and argued, and pleaded with, as children should with their mothers; see ( Hosea 2:2 ) and are to be considered as mothers in Israel, and to be treated with great tenderness and respect. The younger as sisters;
using the freedom as a brother may with a sister; and considering them as sisters in Christ, and in a way becoming the relation, tell them their faults freely and privately, but with all purity:
in such manner as to preserve chastity in looks, in words, and actions.

1 Timothy 5:1 In-Context

1 Don't be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers.
2 Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters.
3 Take care of widows who are destitute.
4 If a widow has family members to take care of her, let them learn that religion begins at their own doorstep and that they should pay back with gratitude some of what they have received. This pleases God immensely.
5 You can tell a legitimate widow by the way she has put all her hope in God, praying to him constantly for the needs of others as well as her own.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.