nothing
1 Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby command of cGod our Savior and of Christ Jesus dour hope,
2 To Timothy, emy true child in the faith:
fGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 gAs I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not hto teach any different doctrine, 4 nor ito devote themselves to myths and endless jgenealogies, which promote kspeculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love lthat issues from a pure heart and ma good conscience and na sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by oswerving from these, have wandered away into pvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, qwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that rthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the slaw is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to tsound3 doctrine, 11 in accordance with uthe gospel of the glory of vthe blessed God wwith which I have been entrusted.
12 I thank him xwho has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, yappointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, zpersecutor, and insolent opponent. But aI received mercy bbecause I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and cthe grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the dfaith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is etrustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus fcame into the world to save sinners, gof whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To hthe King of the ages, iimmortal, jinvisible, kthe only God, lbe honor and glory forever and ever.4 Amen.
18 This charge mI entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with nthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may owage the good warfare, 19 pholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have qmade shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are rHymenaeus and sAlexander, whom I thave handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ublaspheme.
4 Now xthe Spirit expressly says that yin later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to zdeceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of aliars whose consciences are seared, 3 bwho forbid marriage and crequire abstinence from foods dthat God created eto be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For feverything created by God is good, and gnothing is to be rejected if it is ereceived with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy hby the word of God and prayer.
6 iIf you put these things before the brothers,1 you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have jfollowed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, ksilly myths. Rather ltrain yourself for godliness; 8 for while mbodily training is of some value, godliness nis of value in every way, as oit holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is ptrustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive,2 because we have our hope set on the living God, qwho is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach rthese things. 12 sLet no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers tan example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 uDo not neglect the gift you have, which was given you vby prophecy when the council of elders wlaid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,3 so that xall may see your progress. 16 yKeep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save zboth yourself and ayour hearers.
[1] 4:6
[2] 4:10
[3] 4:15
6 oLet all who are under a yoke as bondservants1 regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, pso that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are qbrothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
rTeach and urge these things. 3 If anyone steaches a different doctrine and does not agree with tthe sound2 words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching uthat accords with godliness, 4 vhe is puffed up with conceit and wunderstands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for xcontroversy and for yquarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people zwho are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, aimagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But bgodliness cwith contentment is great gain, 7 for dwe brought nothing into the world, and3 we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But eif we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But fthose who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ginto a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that hplunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of iall kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
11 But as for you, jO man of God, kflee these things. lPursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 mFight the good fight of the faith. nTake hold of the eternal life oto which you were called and about which you made pthe good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 qI charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, rwho in his testimony before4 Pontius Pilate made pthe good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until sthe appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display tat the proper time—he who is uthe blessed and only Sovereign, vthe King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 wwho alone has immortality, xwho dwells in yunapproachable light, zwhom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
17 As for the rich in athis present age, charge them bnot to be haughty, nor cto set their hopes on dthe uncertainty of riches, but on God, ewho richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, fto be rich in good works, to be generous and gready to share, 19 thus hstoring up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may itake hold of jthat which is truly life.
20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. kAvoid the lirreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.