1 Timothy 5:10
Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
Study Note
Study Note
The criteria for enrolling a widow in the church's support list (1 Timothy 5:9–10) reveal an early Christian community organizing around recognizable patterns of embodied service: child-rearing, hospitality, foot-washing, relieving the afflicted, and pursuing every good work. Foot-washing appears here not as a liturgical practice but as a marker of servant character (cf. John 13:14), suggesting it had practical household-hospitality significance in the Pauline mission context. The 'enrollment' (katalegesthō) language echoes both military conscription and official registries, indicating this was a formal ecclesiastical institution with specific membership criteria. The passage provides rare evidence for the social welfare function of the early church and the recognized leadership role of older widows in pastoral and charitable ministry.
Other Translations
well reported of for good works; if she hath brought up children, if she hath used hospitality to strangers, if she hath washed the saints’ feet, if she hath relieved the afflicted, if she hath diligently followed every good work.
in good works being testified to: if she brought up children, if she entertained strangers, if saints' feet she washed, if those in tribulation she relieved, if every good work she followed after;
And if witness is given of her good works; if she has had the care of children, if she has been kind to travellers, washing the feet of the saints, helping those who are in trouble, giving herself to good works.
Cross References
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, …
And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, …
And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though …
Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is …
And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them …
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou …
After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with …