1 Timotius 6:1

6:1 Those who are under the yoke as slaves ¹  must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent ²  the name of God and Christian teaching ³  from being discredited. ⁴ 

1 Timotius 6:13

6:13 I charge you ⁵  before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession ⁶  before Pontius Pilate,

[6:1]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “servants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[6:1]  ² tn Grk “that the name…may not be slandered” (a continuation of the preceding sentence).

[6:1]  ³ tn Grk “the teaching.”

[6:1]  ⁴ tn Or “slandered.”

[6:13]  ⁵ tc ‡ Most witnesses, some of them important (א² A D H 1881 Ï lat sy bo), have σοι (soi, “you”) after παραγγέλλω (parangellw, “I charge [you]”), a predictable variant because the personal pronoun is demanded by the sense of the passage (and was added in the translation because of English requirements). Hence, the omission is the harder reading, and the addition of σοι is one of clarification. Further, the shorter reading is found in several important witnesses, such as א* F G Ψ 6 33 1739 pc. Thus, both internally and externally the shorter reading is preferred. NA ²⁷ places σοι in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[6:13]  tn Grk “I charge.”

[6:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “testified the good confession.”

[6:13]  sn Jesus’ good confession was his affirmative answer to Pilate’s question “Are you the king of the Jews?” (see Matt 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3, John 18:33-37).