Question: Berean Literal Bible 1 Timothy 2:9

> 
> Likewise also women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing
> 
> 
> 

Was Paul against braided hair or hair adorned with gold?

Answer: 
1 Tim 2:9 should not be divorced from V10, so let me quote both (BSB):

> 
> Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable
> apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or
> gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, as is proper
> for women who profess to worship God.
> 
> 
> 

This text gives me the impression that any woman who could afford it, dressed to impress (much as today!) Paul is simply encouraging women to lift their focus away from the type of apparel that draws attention to oneself and direct it to Christ.

That is, Paul wanted women to be known, not for their exquisite dress sense, but for their good deeds; or more precisely in the words of Matthew 5:16:

> 
> In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see
> your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
> 
> 
> 

Christians should conduct themselves in such a way that even unbelievers give glory to God. This is not done by wearing clothes that bring glory to the person.

Lastly and specifically about **braided hair**: I do not believe that Paul was specifically opposed to braided hair but the braids containing gold or pearls. Gold threads cannot be placed in the hair without braiding it. Similarly, Pearls in the hair could only be done using braids. For a woman having long hair (as Paul in other places recommended, 1 Cor 11:15), braiding hair is and was a practical way to wear it in public.

Therefore, I suggest that Paul is not against braided as such, but against braiding hair with gold and pearls as an exercise in self glorification.
\*\*What's wrong with braided hair in 1 Timothy 2:9?

Berean Literal Bible 1 Timothy 2:9\*\*

> 
> Likewise also women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel,
> with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls
> or costly clothing Suppose you are drawn to a certain style of dress
> that could possibly disturb some in the congregation. Yet, you may
> know of no specific Bible law that forbids it. What is God's view the
> matter? The apostle Paul offered this inspired counsel:
> 
> 
> 

1 Timothy 2:9-10 (NASB)

Women Instructed

> 
> 9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing,
> [a]modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls
> or costly garments, 10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper
> for women making a claim to godliness.
> 
> 
> 

The counsel applies equally to men. Modesty and love move us to take into account the opinions of fellow believers in order to avoid distracting or even offending them.

1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NASB)

> 
> 23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All
> things are lawful, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his
> own good, but that of his [a]neighbor.
> 
> 
> 

Philippians 3:17 (NET Bible)

> 
> 17 Be imitators of me, brothers and sisters,[b] and watch carefully
> those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example.
> 
> 
> 

Bearing in mind what the Scriptures say can help us perceive God's thinking on this matter and can guide us in making decisions that please him.

Braided Hair Styles.