Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Timothy 5:19

"Against an elder receive not an accusation, except at [the mouth of] two or three witnesses." — 1 Timothy 5:19 (ASV)

Paul sounds a salutary warning that an “accusation” (GK 2990; cf. Titus 1:6) concerning an individual elder was not to be “entertained” (lit., “received”; GK 4138) as a charge against him unless it was supported by two or three witnesses. The last part of this verse is almost a verbal quotation from Dt 19:15 (cf. Dt 17:6; see also comment on 2 Corinthians 13:1). If there are any elders whose sins are substantiated, such offenders Timothy is to rebuke “publicly.” Does this mean before the whole church or only before the other elders? The next clause seems to favor the latter: “so that the others [i.,e., the rest of the elders] may take warning.”