If any man or woman that believeth have widows
That is, if any member of a church, whether a brother or a sister, have mothers or grandmothers, or any near relations widows, in mean circumstances, and incapable of taking care of themselves:
let them relieve them;
out of their own substance; which is what the apostle before calls showing piety at home, and requiting their own parents:
and let not the church be charged;
or burdened with the maintenance of them:
that it may relieve them that are widows indeed;
that the church may be in a better capacity, its stock not being expended on others, to supply the wants of those who are really widows; who have neither husbands, nor children, nor any relations, to provide for them; nor anything in the world to support themselves with.