In this verse Paul returns to a description of widows, although he now uses the singular form of the term he used in verse 4. Since the Greek is literally “and the one being a widow,” translators in certain languages will wish to retain Revised Standard Version‘s model a real widow. The first thing that is emphasized is her helplessness; she is left all alone, which simply means that there is no one on whom she can depend for support or material help, hence Good News Translation “with no one to take care of her.” If in a receptor language all alone carries the meaning “living by herself,” a translator may leave the phrase out and say, for example, “A real widow who has no one to take care of her” or “A widow who is really in need is one who doesn’t have any relatives” (Contemporary English Version).

The next thing noted is the widow’s piety and godliness; She … has set her hope on God and prays day and night. To set one’s hope in God is “to depend on God alone,” “to trust in God completely.” This is a fitting attitude of the real widow, who has no one on earth on whom she can depend. This dependence, this placing of hope in God, is expressed in terms of regularly engaging in prayers and supplications. For these two terms see 2.1 and discussion there. The presence of the article with both of these terms indicates that these should be taken separately, although obviously they are related. One way of indicating this relationship is to regard prayers in a generic sense, referring to any act of speaking with God, and supplications in the more specific sense of asking something from God, hence “plea,” “entreaty.” The expression night and day indicates regularity rather than continuous activity; it is not that she prays all night and all day, but that prayer has become a regular habit, and it does not matter whether it is day or it is night, she still comes to God in prayer. One thing to notice is that the Greek has literally night and day, following the Jewish understanding that the day begins at sunset. In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order; hence “day and night.” It is of course possible to translate this in a more dynamic way by making clear that the activity of prayer has become the widow’s regular habit.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• A real widow, who has no one to take care of her, trusts God completely. She makes a habit of regularly praying to God and asking him for his help.

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 .