1:9a
We realize: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as We realize literally mean “understanding this.” Paul was saying that people needed to understand the reasons that God gave them his law. The false teachers did not understand this, and so they were not teaching the law properly. (People have interpreted the phrase “We also know that law is made not for the righteous” (1:9a) in several different ways. The interpretation which the Notes and the Display explain is probably the best interpretation. Other interpretations include the following:(1) Paul was not referring to the Mosaic law when he mentioned the word “law,” but to laws made by governments. When he said that “law is not for the righteous”, he meant that people would not need to make laws if everybody always did what was right. This fits the popular Greek thinking about the purpose of laws in general. This is a possible interpretation. It is true that people do not make laws for those who do what is right. The purpose of law is to change people’s behavior by warning them to avoid doing what is wrong or harmful. Paul referred to this to imply that the primary purpose of God’s laws in the Scriptures is similar to the purpose of other laws. This interpretation is very similar to what is detailed in the Notes. However, the immediate context in 1 Timothy talks about God’s laws in the Scriptures. It is unnecessary to think that Paul changed to talk about laws in general.(2) Paul did not mean that the righteous should not teach, study, and obey the law. Instead, he meant that they should not use it for teaching myths and speculation. Knight seems to follow this view when he says, “Paul is saying that the law is not given to apply in some mystical way to people who are already ‘righteous,’ i.e, those already seeking to conform to the law.” But the trouble with this interpretation is that it seems to mean the opposite of what the text actually says: that “the law is intended for the righteous,” while the text says “the law is not for the righteous.”(3) God’s commandments which are in the Old Testament are “not for the righteous” in the sense that Christians do not need to obey all the commandments and rules which are in the Old Testament in order to please God (as Galatians 5:18 says). Before Jesus came and fulfilled the law, God wanted people to obey him by carefully observing all the commandments in the Old Testament. But now, Christians serve God in a new way by obeying his Spirit (as Romans 7:6 says). However, this interpretation is not best because Paul did not talk about Christians no longer having to obey the Old Testament laws anywhere else in 1 Timothy. It would be surprising if he mentioned such a weighty topic in such a passing way in 1:9a.)
1:9b
law: Scholars interpret the word law here in two different ways:
(1) It refers to the law that God gave to Moses, that is, the same law that Paul mentioned in 1:7a and 1:8a. English versions that say “the law” or “these laws” probably follow this interpretation.
(Revised Standard Version, King James Version, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
(2) It refers to all laws. This includes all human laws, as well as the law of Moses. English versions that say “law” or “laws” instead of “the law” probably follow this interpretation.
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word)
Paul had been talking about God’s law immediately before this verse, in 1:8. So it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Paul’s point was that God gave people his law to stop them from doing wrong.
is not enacted: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is not enacted literally means “does not exist,” “does not exist for a purpose,” or “is not set.” (Louw and Nida (13.73) say, “to exist, with the implication of having been established and thus having continuity and purpose – ‘to exist, to exist for, to be set.’”) In this context, you could also translate this word as “is not given.”
for the righteous: Paul used this phrase to mean that God gave his law because people were sinful (1:9b–1:10d) and needed to know the right way to behave.
When Paul said “not enacted for the righteous“, he did not mean that righteous people should not learn about God’s law. But he meant that the law was not primarily intended to correct their behavior. It was intended to show other people that they were sinning.
the righteous: A righteous person in this context refers to someone who is just and upright, who wants to do what pleases God.
1:9c–f
In the rest of this verse, as well as in 1:10, Paul listed different kinds of people who needed to understand God’s law in order to stop sinning. (The sins that Paul mentioned here are similar to the sins mentioned in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2–17). Since the Ten Commandments refer to the most important of God’s laws, Paul possibly made his list of sins similar to the list in the Ten Commandments so that it would refer to those who break the most important of God’s laws. It is not always clear to which of the Ten Commandments each item on Paul’s list refers. Probably the first pair of words are general descriptions that introduce the whole list. After that, each element of the list is similar to one of the Ten Commandments.)
The list is long, so in some languages it may be helpful to split the list into several shorter lists. If you do so, you may want to begin each list with something like:
God gave his law to teach people who…
1:9c
but: The Greek particle de that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but introduces a contrast between “the righteous” (1:9b) and “the lawless and rebellious” (1:9c).
the lawless: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the lawless here refers to people who ignore God’s law and disobey it.
and rebellious: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rebellious refers to people who are disobedient to those in authority. They defy their authorities. Here Paul specifically refers to people who refuse to accept God’s authority. This word is also used in Titus 1:10.
These two words translated lawless and rebellious mean almost the same thing. In some languages it may be necessary to combine these two terms into one expression. For example:
those who disobey God
1:9d
for the ungodly: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ungodly refers to those who behave without respect for God. This word is also used in Romans 5:6 and Jude 4 and 15.
and sinful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sinful refers to a person who continues to sin without repenting. (Sometimes this word was used in a special way to refer to people who did not obey the Law of Moses, especially Gentiles (see for example Matthew 9:10–11, 11:19; Mark 2:15–16; Luke 5:30, 7:34, 15:1; Galatians 2:15). People called Gentiles “sinners” because they did not worship the Lord as the one true God. If that is what Paul meant, then the word sinful here refers especially to those who break the Second Commandment against worshiping idols (Exodus 20:4–6).)
1:9e
for the unholy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unholy refers to people who behave in ways that do not please God. They behave wickedly and as if God were not important. Some English synonyms for this term are “irreverent,” “profane,” or “wicked.” (This sin could be related to the Third Commandment, which says, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…” (Exodus 20:7). Those who are unholy may either speak as if God were unimportant or behave as if he were unimportant.). The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unholy occurs only here and in 2 Timothy 3:2.
and profane: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as profane refers to people who do not respect God. They are only concerned about things in this world. This word is also used in Hebrews 12:16. (This word could be connected to the Fourth Commandment, which prohibits people from profaning the Sabbath by treating it as if it were like any other day (Exodus 20:8–11).)
1:9f
for killers of father or mother:
The phrase
those who kill their fathers or mothers refers to those who radically disobey the Fifth Commandment, which says that a person must honor his or her father and mother (Exodus 20:12). At the time when Paul wrote, the words in Greek generally referred to those who actually killed their mother or father. Even so, it is worthwhile to note that in Exodus 21:15, which is found in a chapter which serves as a commentary on the Ten Commandments, God forbids even the striking of a person’s father or mother) The phrase killers of father or mother is literally “father-killers and mother-killers.” It refers to people who murder their fathers and to people who murder their mothers.
for murderers: The term murderers refers to people who deliberately kill someone. (The Sixth Commandment, in Exodus 20:13, prohibits murder.)
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