1 Timothy 6
New English Translation
6 Those who are under the yoke as slaves[a] must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent[b] the name of God and Christian teaching[c] from being discredited.[d] 2 But those who have believing masters must not show them less respect[e] because they are brothers. Instead they are to serve all the more, because those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.[f]
Summary of Timothy’s Duties
Teach them and exhort them about these things.[g] 3 If someone spreads false teachings[h] and does not agree with sound words (that is, those of our Lord Jesus Christ) and with the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions, 5 and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness[i] is a way of making a profit. 6 Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7 For we have brought nothing into this world and so[j] we cannot take a single thing out either. 8 But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.[k] 9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root[l] of all evils.[m] Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.
11 But you, as a person dedicated to God,[n] keep away from all that.[o] Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Compete well[p] for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession[q] for[r] in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you[s] before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession[t] before Pontius Pilate, 14 to obey[u] this command[v] without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 —whose appearing[w] the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time. 16 He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this world’s goods[x] not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain,[y] but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to do good,[z] to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others.[aa] 19 In this way they will save up[ab] a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation[ac] for the future and so lay hold of[ad] what is truly life.
Conclusion
20 O Timothy, protect what has been entrusted to you. Avoid[ae] the profane chatter and absurdities[af] of so-called “knowledge.”[ag] 21 By professing it, some have strayed from the faith.[ah] Grace be with you all.[ai]
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 6:1 tn Traditionally, “servants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. Also, many slaves in the Roman world became slaves through Rome’s subjugation of conquered nations, kidnapping, or by being born into slave households.
- 1 Timothy 6:1 tn Grk “that the name…may not be slandered” (a continuation of the preceding sentence).
- 1 Timothy 6:1 tn Grk “the teaching.”
- 1 Timothy 6:1 tn Or “slandered.”
- 1 Timothy 6:2 tn Or “think the less of them”; Grk “despise them,” “look down on them.”
- 1 Timothy 6:2 tn Or “those who devote themselves to service are faithful and dearly loved” (referring to slaves who serve them).
- 1 Timothy 6:2 tn Grk “these things teach and exhort.”
- 1 Timothy 6:3 tn Grk “teaches other doctrines,” (different from apostolic teaching, cf. 1 Tim 1:3).
- 1 Timothy 6:5 tc Although most witnesses, including some early versions and fathers (D2 Ψ 1241 1505 M al sy Cyp Lcf Ambst), have ἀφίστασο ἀπὸ τῶν τοιούτων (aphistaso apo’ tōn toioutōn, “stay away from such things!”) after εὐσεβείαν (eusebeian, “godliness”; thus, “who suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit; stay away from such things!”), there seems to be little reason for this clause’s omission in some of the oldest and best witnesses (א A D* F G 048 6 33 81 1175 1739 1881 lat co). It is likely that it crept into the text early, perhaps as a marginal comment, but it should not be considered authentic in light of the strong external and transcriptional evidence against it.
- 1 Timothy 6:7 tc The Greek conjunction ὅτι usually means “because,” but here it takes the sense “so that” (see BDAG 732 s.v. 5.c). This unusual sense led to textual variation as scribes attempted to correct what appeared to be an error: D* along with a few versional and patristic witnesses read ἀληθὲς ὅτι (“it is true that”), and א2 D1 Ψ 1175 1241 1505 M al sy read δῆλον ὅτι (“it is clear that”). Thus the simple conjunction is preferred on internal as well as external grounds, supported by א* A F G 048 33 81 1739 1881.
- 1 Timothy 6:8 tn Grk “with these.”
- 1 Timothy 6:10 tn This could be taken to mean “a root,” but the phrase “of all evils” clearly makes it definite. This seems to be not entirely true to life (some evils are unrelated to love of money), but it should be read as a case of hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point more strongly).
- 1 Timothy 6:10 tn Many translations render this “of all kinds of evil,” especially to allow for the translation “a root” along with it. But there is no parallel for taking a construction like this to mean “all kinds of” or “every kind of.” The normal sense is “all evils.”
- 1 Timothy 6:11 tn Grk “O man of God.”
- 1 Timothy 6:11 tn Grk “flee these things.”
- 1 Timothy 6:12 tn This phrase literally means “compete in the good competition of the faith,” using words that may refer to a race or to a boxing or wrestling match: “run the good race” or “fight the good fight.” The similar phrase in 1 Tim 1:18 uses a military picture and is more literally “war the good warfare.”
- 1 Timothy 6:12 sn At some point in Timothy’s life, he publicly acknowledged Jesus as the resurrected Lord, perhaps either at his baptism or his ordination as a minister of the gospel. With this reminder of the historical moment of his good confession, Timothy is encouraged to remain steadfast in his faith and to finish his life as a minister in the same way it began (see G. W. Knight, Pastoral Epistles [NIGTC], 264-65).
- 1 Timothy 6:12 tn Grk “confessed the good confession.”
- 1 Timothy 6:13 tc ‡ Most witnesses, some of them significant (א2 A D H 1175 1505 1881 M al lat sy bo), have σοι (soi, “you”) after παραγγέλλω (parangellō, “I charge [you]”), a predictable variant because the personal pronoun is demanded by the sense of the passage (and was added in the translation because of English requirements). Hence, the omission is the harder reading, and the addition of σοι is one of clarification. Further, the shorter reading is found in several significant witnesses, such as א* F G Ψ 6 33 1739. Although the external evidence is evenly balanced, internally the shorter reading is preferred. NA 28 places σοι in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.tn Grk “I charge.”
- 1 Timothy 6:13 tn Grk “testified the good confession.”sn Jesus’ good confession was his affirmative answer to Pilate’s question “Are you the king of the Jews?” (see Matt 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3, John 18:33-37).
- 1 Timothy 6:14 tn The Greek word τηρέω (tēreō, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.
- 1 Timothy 6:14 tn Grk “the command.”sn The command refers to the duties laid upon Timothy for his ministry in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3-20; 6:2c-5).
- 1 Timothy 6:15 tn Grk “which.” All of 1 Tim 6:15 is a relative clause which refers back to “appearing” in v.14. The phrase “whose appearing” was supplied to clarify this connection.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 tn Grk “in the present age.”
- 1 Timothy 6:17 tn Grk “in uncertainty.”
- 1 Timothy 6:18 tn Grk “to do good” (the continuation of 6:17). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 18.
- 1 Timothy 6:18 tn Grk “to be generous,” “sharing.”
- 1 Timothy 6:19 tn Grk “saving up” (the continuation of 6:18). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 19.
- 1 Timothy 6:19 tn Grk “treasuring up a good foundation.”
- 1 Timothy 6:19 tn Grk “that they may lay hold of.”
- 1 Timothy 6:20 tn Grk “avoiding.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- 1 Timothy 6:20 tn Or “contradictions.”
- 1 Timothy 6:20 tn Grk “the falsely named knowledge.”
- 1 Timothy 6:21 tn Grk “have deviated concerning the faith.”
- 1 Timothy 6:21 tc Most witnesses (א2 D1 Ψ 1175 1241 1505 M al sy bo) conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amēn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the earliest and best witnesses (א* A D* F G 33 81 1739* 1881 it sa) lack the particle, indicating that the letter concluded with “Grace be with you all.”tn Grk “with you” (but the Greek pronoun indicates the meaning is plural here).
提摩太前书 6
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
6 做奴仆的要全心尊重自己的主人,免得上帝的名和我们的教导被人亵渎。 2 若主人是基督徒,做奴仆的不可因为同是信徒就不尊敬自己的主人,反而要更好地服侍他,因为这些接受服侍的人是信徒,是主所爱的。你要教导这些事并勉励众人。
异端与贪财
3 如果有人传的教义不符合我们主耶稣基督纯正的道和敬虔的教导, 4 他就是狂妄自大、一无所知。这种人专好问难,争辩字句,结果引起嫉妒、纷争、毁谤和猜忌, 5 使那些思想败坏、失去真理的人争论不休,甚至把敬虔当作生财之道。 6 其实敬虔和知足才是真正的财富, 7 因为我们空手来到世上,也要空手离开。 8 只要有吃有穿,就该知足。 9 那些渴望发财的人却陷入诱惑、网罗和许多愚蠢有害的欲望中,以致落入败坏和灭亡中。 10 贪财是万恶之根,有人因为贪财就离弃了信仰,结果饱尝种种锥心般的痛苦。
保罗对提摩太的嘱咐
11 但你这属上帝的人要远避这些事,要追求公义、敬虔、信心、爱心、忍耐和温柔, 12 要为真道打美好的仗,要持定永生。你是为永生蒙召的,并在许多见证人面前做过美好的见证。 13 在赐万物生命的上帝面前,也在向本丢·彼拉多做过美好见证的基督耶稣面前,我嘱咐你: 14 要遵守这命令,做纯洁无瑕、无可指责的人,一直到我们的主耶稣基督再来。 15 到了时候,配得称颂、独有权能的万王之王、万主之主要使基督显现。 16 上帝是独一不朽的,住在人不能接近的光中,从来没有人见过祂,也没有人能够看见祂。愿尊贵和永远的权柄都归给祂。阿们!
17 你要劝诫那些今世富足的人不要高傲,也不要冀望于靠不住的钱财,要信靠将万物厚赐给我们享用的上帝。 18 你要劝他们多多行善、慷慨施舍、乐意助人。 19 这样,他们可以为自己的将来奠定美好的基础,以便持守真正的生命。
20 提摩太啊,你要持守所托付给你的,避开世俗的空谈和那些违背真理、似是而非的学问。 21 有些自称有这种学问的人已经偏离了信仰。
愿恩典与你们同在!
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