Paragraph 5:23

Paul told Timothy in 5:22c to keep himself pure so that he could appoint elders effectively. In this paragraph he made a brief comment to Timothy about wine. Then he resumed his instructions in 5:24 about appointing elders.

5:23a

Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead: During the time when Timothy lived, people frequently drank wine. However, if a person drank too much wine, he would become drunk. See the note on 3:8b.

Apparently Timothy had only been drinking water and not drinking any wine. Paul told him that to drank a little wine as medicine was acceptable.

little: Paul did not define how much “wine” Timothy should drink, but it was a small quantity. It was not enough to make Timothy drunk.

5:23b–c

your stomach and your frequent ailments: There are two ways to interpret these words:

(1) These expressions refer to the same thing. That is, Timothy’s frequent illnesses were stomach problems. For example, the Good News Translation says:

to help your digestion, since you are sick so often

(Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), God’s Word)

(2) These expressions refer to different illnesses. In addition to Timothy’s stomach problems, he was also often sick with some other illnesses. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

your stomach trouble and the other illnesses you always have

Other versions are a little ambiguous, but most likely follow interpretation (2).

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The illnesses were stomach problems that go away when people drink a little wine.

General Comment on 5:23a–c

In some languages it may be helpful to reorder this verse. For example:

Because your stomach makes you ill so often, try drinking a little wine instead of only water.

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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.