5:22a

Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands: Here Paul implied that Timothy should be careful when he chose people to appoint as new leaders for the community of believers.

Do not be too quick: Paul did not want Timothy to appoint new elders too quickly. In other words, he wanted Timothy to ensure that the person was qualified to be a good elder. Timothy was to be sure that the candidate really was “above reproach” (3:2a).

the laying on of hands: The phrase the laying on of hands refers to the way that Timothy, along with other leaders of the believers, appointed a person to be an elder. They stood around a person, placed their hands upon him and prayed for him.

5:22b

and thereby share in the sins of others: Paul did not want Timothy to appoint any man to be an elder before Timothy really knew the man’s character. If Timothy did appoint an elder and later the elder sinned, Timothy would then share in the sins of that elder. That means that Timothy would be partly responsible for the sins that the elder committed.

others: This refers in general to elders who sin.

5:22c

yourself: Paul used the emphatic pronoun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as yourself to emphasize that Timothy needed to take care not to sin himself.

pure: To be pure means to be free from sin. Timothy needed to avoid having sinful habits or sinning in any major way. If he avoided sin, he would be a good example for the other believers. If he did not stay away from sin, he would be a bad example.

© 2003 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.