But she that liveth in pleasure - Margin, "delicately." The Greek word ( ́ spatalaō ) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in James 5:5, "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth." It properly means to live in luxury, voluptuously; to indulge freely in eating and drinking; to yield to the indulgence of the appetites. It does not indicate grossly criminal pleasures; but the kind of pleasure connected with luxurious living, and with pampering the appetites. It is probable that in the time of the apostle, there were professedly Christian widows who lived in this manner - as there are such professing Christians of all kinds in every age of the world.

Is dead while she liveth - To all the proper purposes of life she is as if she were dead. There is great emphasis in this expression, and nothing could convey more forcibly the idea that true happiness is not to be found in the pleasure of sense. There is nothing in them that answers the purposes of life. They are not the objects for which life was given, and as to the great and proper designs of existence, such persons might as well be dead.

Other Barnes' Notes entries containing 1 Timothy 5:6:

Hosea 13:1
Amos 2:4
Luke 15:24
1 Timothy 5:16
1 Timothy 5:17
Titus 2:3
James 5:5

 

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