having condemnation, because they have rejected their first pledge.
Parallel translations
- KJV Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
- BSB and thus will incur judgment because they are setting aside their first faith.
- NKJV having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith.
- NASB thereby incurring condemnation, because they have ignored their previous pledge.
- NLT Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Such younger widows would incur judgment for abandoning their first pledge of devoted service. Paul takes vows seriously and would spare them the guilt of breaking one.
Overview
Paul explains that the danger is incurring condemnation by casting off their first pledge, likely a commitment to single-minded service tied to enrollment. The point is not that remarriage is sin, but that breaking a solemn promise to the Lord is grave. Scripture consistently warns that vows to God should not be made rashly and must be kept.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gal 1:6I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;
- Jas 3:1Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.
- 1 Cor 11:34But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgment. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.
- 1 Pet 4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
- Rev 2:4–5But I have this against you, that you left your first love.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
There is 'one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all' — the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh.
How 1 Timothy 5:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.