deacon

The Greek that is often translated as “deacon” in English is translated as kavumbi in Chokwe, someone “who serves another, not from compulsion or for a wage, but because of vumbi or grace.”

(Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )

blameless (Luke 1:6)

The Greek that is translated as “blameless” or “guiltless” or similar in English is translated in Huautla Mazatec as ni̱jme jìn kjoa̱ xi chꞌao tjín koansjaitꞌain or “do not find any ugly / bad matter for them.” Jean Paul Gotopo Maldonado who is participating in the work on a new translation explains: “In Huautla Mazatec there is no term to indicate the irreproachable character of a person, therefore this concept is described with a phrase.”

See also blameless (Luke 1:6) and blameless (Job)

complete verse (1 Timothy 3:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 3:10:

  • Uma: “If there are people who want to be helpers in the Lord’s work, test their character first, and if they are above reproach [lit., not accuse-able], only then can they be appointed to do that work.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And before they are titled to help the leader in the prayer-house their custom ought to be observed first. If it is observed that their custom is really good they can be titled to help the leader.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “If there is a person whom you choose as deacon, his behavior must be investigated first. Then if there is no bad behavior of his that you know about, he may be chosen as a deacon.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Those whom you choose to be-helping, they must first be verified/confirmed so that if no sin of their becomes-known, then it-can-be that they will serve.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore make sure first of their nature/ways. And then provided nothing can be observed in their nature/ways which would make them unacceptable, well they will be acceptable to hold the responsibility/job of helper to the overseer.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “These men must first have the way they walk be seen. Then if no evil is found they can receive the position to help at the church.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Timothy 3:10

For the first time in this letter, the expression let them is used; in fact it occurs twice in this verse. Quite often this expression has the meaning “to allow,” “to permit.” This is the force of the second occurrence of the expression in this verse: “they are allowed to serve as deacons.” In the first occurrence, however, the expression has an imperative force, which means that as far as the deacons are concerned, there is no option being offered. Deacons must be tested before they are allowed to serve. In many languages this third person imperative needs to be restructured in order to make sure that it is understood as a command, as indeed Good News Translation has done (so also Contemporary English Version “They must first prove themselves. Then … they can serve…”).

In this verse we are given information that is not mentioned in connection with the “bishops,” namely, that candidates to become deacons need to undergo some kind of testing before they can serve as deacons. It is possible to interpret the word also in the text to relate this practice with the bishops as well, so New English Bible “no less than bishops.” It is more likely that also refers back to verse 9, with the sense that those who are being considered to become deacons should be tested in order to ascertain whether they are holding fast to the revealed truth of the faith. Good News Translation seems to follow this second interpretation, and translators are urged to do likewise. Another way of expressing this first clause is “They should go through testing first.” However, in languages that avoid the passive voice, translators will need to find the agent of tested. Since this is not certain, one may use a more general agent and say, for example, “The believers should test them first” or “People should test them first.”

The nature of the testing is less than clear. Some understand it to be a period of probation (for example, Weymouth “must undergo probation”), or at any rate a formal testing of some kind; Good News Translation can in fact be understood in this way. Others understand it to refer to the practice of designating people who demonstrate the appropriate qualities; these people are constantly observed, and it is from them that deacons are selected when necessary. The testing has for its purpose to prove themselves blameless. The term for blameless means “irreproachable” and is a synonym for “above reproach” in 3.2.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• The believers should test them first, and if they find that these helpers are without fault, then they should allow them [the helpers] to serve.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 Timothy 3:10

3:10a

Additionally, they must first be tested: Paul told Timothy that someone who might become a deacon should be tested to discover if he had the right qualities. Only if he had these qualities should he be appointed as a deacon.

Paul did not say who should test a deacon. So it is recommended that you do not explain that either. Perhaps you could say:

Let them prove themselves.

But, if in your language you need to specify who tested the deacons, it is recommended that you use a general term. For example, you could say:

The believers must test them

Paul also did not explain the way that deacons should be tested. There are many possibilities, but it is recommended that you avoid specifying any method of testing in your translation.

first: In this context, this means before starting to serve as a deacon.

3:10b

if they are above reproach: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as above reproach means that the men being tested cannot be truthfully be accused of doing wrong. It has a similar meaning to the word that the Berean Standard Bible also translates as “above reproach” in 3:2a.

3:10c

let them serve as deacons: That is, once these men have passed the test, they can be appointed as deacons.

deacons: See the note on 3:8a.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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.