1 Timothy 5:4

“But if any widow has children or grandchildren”: “When the King James Version was translated the word ‘nephews' meant grandchildren, but that meaning has now become obsolete. The Greek word means ‘sprung from one', that is, offspring or descendants” (Hiebert p. 92).

1 Timothy 5:4 “They must first learn”: That is, learn by use and practice. “Present active imperative, ‘let them keep on learning'” (Robertson p. 583). The term “first” indicates, “before anything else is done, first of all” (Thayer p. 555). “In the first place, as their first and natural obligation” (Vincent p. 258).

1 Timothy 5:4 “To practice piety”: “To be pious, to act reverently towards” (Thayer p. 262). “To show piety towards any to whom dutiful regard is due” (Vine p. 183).

1 Timothy 5:4 “In regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents”: The words “some return” means, “a requital, recompense” (Vine p. 285). “Make. return to those who brought them up” (Arndt p. 46). “Younger family members are to show some appreciation for the sacrifice and care that their parents and grandparents extended to them. Hendriksen calls attention to an old Dutch proverb which indicates it frequently seems easier for one poor father to bring up ten children than for ten rich children to provide for one poor father” (Reese p. 221). “The children owe their parents. great debt which they can never fully repay for all the love, patience, and self-sacrificing care bestowed upon them during their infancy and childhood” (Hiebert p. 92). Every child should look forward to the day when they can repay their parents.

1 Timothy 5:4 “For this is acceptable in the sight of God”: (Mark 7:9; John 19:26). In contrast, being disrespectful of our parents is not pleasing to God (Romans 1:30; 2 Timothy 3:2). Various writers have noted that in the ancient world and even in the modern world, the vice of abandoning old and infirm parents was common.