1st Timothy Chapter 5 verse 24 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 24. - Evident for open beforehand, A.V.; unto for to, A.V.; men also for men, A.V. Some men's sins, etc. St. Paul is evidently here recurring to the topic which he had been dealing with ever since ver. 17, viz. Timothy's duty as a bishop, to whom was entrusted the selection of persons for the office of elder, or presbyter, and also the maintaining of discipline among his clergy. Alford sees the connection of the precept about drinking a little wine with what went before, and with this twenty-fourth verse, in the supposed circumstance that Timothy's weak health had somewhat weakened the vigor of his rule; and that the recommendation to leave off water-drinking was given more with a view to the firmer discharge of those duties than merely for his bodily comfort. This may be so. But there is nothing unlike St. Paul's manner in the supposition that he had done with the subject in hand at the end of the twenty-second verse, and passed on to the friendly hint with regard to Timothy's health, but then subjoined the fresh remarks in vers. 24 and 25, which were an afterthought. Evident (πρόδηλοι); only found in the New Testament, in Hebrews 7:14 besides these two verses, and in the apocryphal books of the Old Testament. It is common, with the kindred forms, προδηλόω προδήλωσις, etc., in classical Greek. It is doubted whether πρὸ in this compound verb has the force of "beforehand," as in the A.V., and not rather that of "before the eyes of all," and therefore only intensifies the meaning of δηλόω. But the natural force of πρὸ in composition certainly is "before" in point of time; and hence in a compound like πρόδηλος would mean" evident before it is examined," which of course is equivalent to "very evident." St. Paul's meaning, therefore, would be: Some men's sins are notorious, requiring no careful inquisition in order to find them out; nay, they of themselves go before - before the sinner himself - unto judgment. But there are also some whose sins follow after them. It is not till after close inquiry that they are found out. They go up to the judgment-seat apparently innocent, but after a while their sins come trooping up to their condemnation. This enforces the caution, "Lay hands hastily on no man."

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(24) Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.--The preceding verse was parenthetic, and suggested by his fears lest the effect of his direction to his son in the faith to keep himself pure might lead Timothy to the practice of a useless and unhealthy asceticism. St. Paul now returns and closes the subject on which he had been instructing his representative at Ephesus. He tells him, in his choice of men to fill the public positions in the Church of God--in his public inquiries into their conduct and teaching--in his inquiries respecting sinners, who, having forfeited their position as members of the community, were seeking re-admission into church fellowship, not to forget there were two classes of sins: the one class public and open, heralds, so to speak, of the judgment to follow. In the case of men sinning thus, the church's chief pastor would have no difficulty in determining upon his course of action. But there was another class of sins--silent and, as far as public and general knowledge went, unknown--only published after judgment had been given. To rightly estimate such characters will require much care and penetration, and this will be part of Timothy's work. The judgment (krisis) here mentioned is that of Timothy as shown in the careful selection of candidates for ordination--in determining what sinners are fit for restoration to church fellowship--in pronouncing sentence in the matter of accused presbyters.