1 Timothy 6
Lexham English Bible
Slaves and Masters
6 All those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, lest the name of God and the teaching be slandered. 2 And those who have believing masters must not look down on them because they are brothers, but rather they must serve, because those who benefit by their service are believers and dearly loved.
False Teachers and the Love of Money
Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not devote himself to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, 4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a morbid interest concerning controversies and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, slanders, evil suspicions, 5 constant wrangling by people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who consider godliness to be a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is a great means of gain. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so that neither can we bring anything out. 8 But if we[a] have food and clothing, with these things we will be content. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge those people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all evil, by which some, because they[b] desire it, have gone astray from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
Renewed Charge to Timothy
11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patient endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I command you, in the sight of God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you observe the commandment without fault, irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will make known in his own time, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords, 16 the one who alone possesses immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no human being has seen nor is able to see, to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Instructions to the Rich
17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be proud and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in God, who provides us all things richly for enjoyment, 18 to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, sharing freely, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future, in order that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Final Charge and Benediction
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless empty talk and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some, by[c] professing it, have deviated concerning the faith. Grace be with you all.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 6:8 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“having”) which is understood as conditional
- 1 Timothy 6:10 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“desire”) which is understood as causal
- 1 Timothy 6:21 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“professing”) which is understood as means
1 Timothy 6
International Children’s Bible
6 All who are slaves should show full respect to their masters. Then no one will speak against God’s name and our teaching. 2 Some slaves have masters who are believers. This means they are all brothers. But the slaves should not show their masters any less respect. They should serve their masters even better, because they are helping believers they love.
False Teaching and True Riches
You must teach and preach these things. 3 If anyone has a different teaching, he does not accept the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that teaching shows him the true way to serve God. 4 The person who teaches falsely is full of pride and understands nothing. He is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. And that brings jealousy, making trouble, insults, and evil mistrust. 5 And that also brings arguments from men who have evil minds. They have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich.
6 It is true that serving God makes a person very rich, if he is satisfied with what he has. 7 When we came into the world, we brought nothing. And when we die, we can take nothing out. 8 So, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. 9 Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves. They are caught in a trap. They begin to want many foolish things that will hurt them, things that ruin and destroy people. 10 The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the true faith because they want to get more and more money. But they have caused themselves much sorrow.
Some Things to Remember
11 But you are a man of God. So you should stay away from all those things. Try to live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 12 Keeping your faith is like running a race. Try as hard as you can to win. Be sure you receive the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life. And you confessed the great truth about Christ in a way that many people heard. 13 Before God and Christ Jesus I give you a command. Christ Jesus confessed that same great truth when he stood before Pontius Pilate. And God gives life to everything. Now I tell you: 14 Do the things you were commanded to do. Do them without wrong or blame until the time when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 15 God will make that happen at the right time. He is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. 16 God is the only One who never dies. He lives in light so bright that men cannot go near it. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.
17 Give this command to those who are rich with things of this world. Tell them not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not their money. Money cannot be trusted, but God takes care of us richly. He gives us everything to enjoy. 18 Tell the rich people to do good and to be rich in doing good deeds. Tell them to be happy to give and ready to share. 19 By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves in heaven. That treasure will be a strong foundation. Their future life can be built on that treasure. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.
20 Timothy, God has trusted you with many things. Keep those things safe. Stay away from people who say foolish things that are not from God. Stay away from those who argue against the truth. They use something they call “knowledge,” but it is really not knowledge. 21 They say that they have that “knowledge,” but they have left the true faith.
God’s grace be with you.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
