1 Timothy 5:16

16 si qua fidelis habet viduas subministret illis et non gravetur ecclesia ut his quae vere viduae sunt sufficiat

1 Timothy 5:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Timothy 5:16

If any man or woman that believeth have widows
That is, if any member of a church, whether a brother or a sister, have mothers or grandmothers, or any near relations widows, in mean circumstances, and incapable of taking care of themselves:

let them relieve them;
out of their own substance; which is what the apostle before calls showing piety at home, and requiting their own parents:

and let not the church be charged;
or burdened with the maintenance of them:

that it may relieve them that are widows indeed;
that the church may be in a better capacity, its stock not being expended on others, to supply the wants of those who are really widows; who have neither husbands, nor children, nor any relations, to provide for them; nor anything in the world to support themselves with.

1 Timothy 5:16 In-Context

14 volo ergo iuveniores nubere filios procreare matres familias esse nullam occasionem dare adversario maledicti gratia

15 iam enim quaedam conversae sunt retro Satanan

16 si qua fidelis habet viduas subministret illis et non gravetur ecclesia ut his quae vere viduae sunt sufficiat

17 qui bene praesunt presbyteri duplici honore digni habeantur maxime qui laborant in verbo et doctrina

18 dicit enim scriptura non infrenabis os bovi trituranti et dignus operarius mercede sua