piety Summary and Overview

Lat. pietas, properly honour and respect toward parents (1 Tim. 5:4). In Acts 17:23 the Greek verb is rendered "ye worship," as applicable to God.

This word occurs but once in the Authorized Version: "Let them learn first to show piety at home," better "toward their own household" or family. #1Ti 5:4| The choice of this word here instead of the more usual equivalents -of "godliness," "reverence," and the like, was probably determined by the special sense of pietas, as "erga parentes," i.e. toward parents.

1 Timothy 5:4, "show piety at home" or "reverential dutifulness toward one's own house." The filial relation represents our relation to our heavenly Father.