This translator note is incomplete and still being prepared.
In most Bibles, 1 Timothy 2:9-15 read something like this (as shown in the New King James Version):
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. 15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
There are multiple translation problems in these verses. Could some of them have been massaged by translators to create excuses for oppressing women? Perhaps.
#1 Verse 9: ‘modest... propriety and moderation’ or ‘modest, chaste, and honorable’
#2 Verse 11: ‘a woman’ or ‘a wife’ or a particular woman?
#3 Verse 11: learn ‘in silence’ or ‘quietly’ or ‘calmly’?
The source texts can be translated as ‘quietly’ or even ‘calmly’ here. Sure, ‘quietly’ does mean ‘in silence’, so ‘in silence’ would be technically correct. However, in English, ‘in silence’ is a very terse-sounding phrase. It makes it sound like there’s a command that women should sit there and never speak in Christian gatherings. Is that really what the apostle meant?
No, it cannot be, because women were supposed to speak during Christian gatherings, such as when singing, praying, or prophesying. However, when it came to learning – perhaps during Bible readings, sermons, or testimonies – then it was time for everyone to be quiet, like any polite audience.
Perhaps certain wives (or a certain wife) had a habit of interrupting or talking to others instead of listening to the presentation.
So Paul’s admonition was probably just to stay respectfully quiet during things like sermons – not that all women should be forevermore denied the right to speak at Christian gatherings, as some may insist (like the person who wrote the fake verses at 1 Corinthians 14:33-35).
So to avoid sounding too terse, our translation says ‘learn quietly’ (which may be the more correct translation anyway), and is good advice for everyone – male or female, married or single.
#3 Verse 11: ‘with all submission’ or ‘obediently’?
#4 Verse 12: ‘permit’ or ‘persuade/argue’?
#5 Verse 12: ‘a woman/a man’ or ‘a wife/a husband’?
#6 Verse 12: ‘have authority over a man’ or ‘usurp a husband’?
Bibles that say ‘have authority over a man’ suit Churches who don’t want women to be in any form of authority. This essentially becomes a ‘proof text’ for them. When texts become ‘proof texts’ they become untouchable and sacred. If they’re later found to be mistranslated, they can never be corrected – no matter what the evidence may say.
So, many Churches are unlikely to approve of our translation of ‘usurp a husband,’ because it cannot be used to prevent women from being put in authority. Our translation would also imply that it’s a husband’s job to instruct his wife in Christian ways, rather than some paid clergyman. Again, this does not suit the dogma of many Churches.
#7 Verse 12: ‘be in silence’ or ‘stop it’?
#8 Verse 14: ‘deceived’ (twice) or two different words?
#9 Verse 14: ‘thoroughly deceived’ or just ‘deceived’?
#10 Verse 15: ‘saved by’ or ‘sustained by’
#11 Verse 15: ‘childbearing’ or ‘her children’
#12 Verse 15: ‘she’ (the woman/wife) or ‘they’ (the children)
#13 Verse 15: ‘self-control’ or ‘sensibleness’?
All potential errors are shown in bold
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being [some bibles: thoroughly] deceived, fell into transgression. 15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they [some bibles: she] continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
How it perhaps should be translated
If all of our suspicions are right (and we’re not saying they are), this is how the verses should read, and how they appear in the 2001 Translation:
9 Likewise, the women’s clothing should be modest, chaste, and honorable; not with fancy hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive clothes. 10 But instead, [their fancy clothing] should be good works – something befitting women who say that they fear God.
11 Let a wife learn quietly and obediently, 12 for I don’t persuade a wife to instruct or usurp a husband; rather, stop it. 13 For Adam was created first, then Eve. 14 Also, Adam wasn’t seduced, but the woman did get thoroughly deceived, and then broke the commandment. 15 However, she will be sustained by her children – as long as they remain in the Faith in love, holiness, and sensibleness.
So this passage may not be the insulting put-down of all women as some translations make it appear. Instead, it can easily sound like an admonition for certain wives (perhaps with one particular person in mind) to be more calm and modest at Christian gatherings, and to cease usurping their husbands (something very scandalous and humiliating for the man in that culture).
If we’re right, then women are not instructed to stay silent and to never speak. Nor are women only saved by having children. These ideas are later thoughts that were imposed upon the text sometime in the early Middle Ages.