1 Timothy 6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Honoring Masters
6 All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters[a] to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name(A) and His teaching will not be blasphemed. 2 Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.(B)
False Doctrine and Human Greed
Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord(C) Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness,(D) 4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but has a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words.(E) From these come envy,(F) quarreling,(G) slander,(H) evil suspicions, 5 and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness[b] is a way to material gain.[c](I) 6 But godliness with contentment is a great gain.(J)
7 For we brought nothing into the world,
and[d] we can take nothing out.(K)
8 But if we have food and clothing,[e]
we will be content with these.
9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root[f] of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith(L) and pierced themselves with many pains.
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, man of God, run from these things,
and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love,(M) endurance,(N) and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight(O) for the faith;
take hold of eternal life(P)
that you were called to
and have made a good confession about
in the presence of many witnesses.
13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all,(Q) and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate,(R) I charge you 14 to keep the command without fault or failure until the appearing(S) of our Lord(T) Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in His own time.(U) He is
the blessed and only(V) Sovereign,
the King of kings,(W)
and the Lord of lords,(X)
16 the only One who has immortality,
dwelling in unapproachable light;(Y)
no one has seen or can see Him,(Z)
to Him be honor and eternal might.(AA)
Amen.(AB)
Instructions to the Rich
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant(AC) or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God,[g] who richly provides us with all things(AD) to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works,(AE) to be generous, willing to share,(AF) 19 storing up for themselves a good reserve[h] for the age to come,(AG) so that they may take hold of life that is real.
Guard the Heritage
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you,(AH) avoiding(AI) irreverent, empty speech and contradictions from the “knowledge” that falsely bears that name.(AJ) 21 By professing it, some(AK) people have deviated from the faith.(AL)
Grace be with all of you.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 6:1 Or owners
- 1 Timothy 6:5 Referring to religion as a means of financial gain
- 1 Timothy 6:5 Other mss add From such people withdraw yourself.
- 1 Timothy 6:7 Other mss add it is clear that
- 1 Timothy 6:8 Or food and shelter
- 1 Timothy 6:10 Or is the root
- 1 Timothy 6:17 Other mss read on the living God
- 1 Timothy 6:19 Or foundation
1 Timothy 6
English Standard Version
6 (A)Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants[a] regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, (B)so 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 (C)brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
False Teachers and True Contentment
(D)Teach and urge these things. 3 If anyone (E)teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with (F)the sound[b] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching (G)that accords with godliness, 4 (H)he is puffed up with conceit and (I)understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for (J)controversy and for (K)quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people (L)who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, (M)imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But (N)godliness (O)with contentment is great gain, 7 for (P)we brought nothing into the world, and[c] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But (Q)if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But (R)those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, (S)into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that (T)plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of (U)all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Fight the Good Fight of Faith
11 But as for you, (V)O man of God, (W)flee these things. (X)Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 (Y)Fight the good fight of the faith. (Z)Take hold of the eternal life (AA)to which you were called and about which you made (AB)the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 (AC)I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, (AD)who in his testimony before[d] Pontius Pilate made (AE)the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until (AF)the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display (AG)at the proper time—he who is (AH)the blessed and only Sovereign, (AI)the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 (AJ)who alone has immortality, (AK)who dwells in (AL)unapproachable light, (AM)whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
17 As for the rich in (AN)this present age, charge them (AO)not to be haughty, nor (AP)to set their hopes on (AQ)the uncertainty of riches, but on God, (AR)who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, (AS)to be rich in good works, to be generous and (AT)ready to share, 19 thus (AU)storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may (AV)take hold of (AW)that which is truly life.
20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. (AX)Avoid the (AY)irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 6:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
- 1 Timothy 6:3 Or healthy
- 1 Timothy 6:7 Greek for; some manuscripts insert [it is] certain [that]
- 1 Timothy 6:13 Or in the time of
- 1 Timothy 6:21 The Greek for you is plural
1 Timothy 6
The Message
6 1-2 Whoever is a slave must make the best of it, giving respect to his master so that outsiders don’t blame God and our teaching for his behavior. Slaves with Christian masters all the more so—their masters are really their beloved brothers!
The Lust for Money
2-5 These are the things I want you to teach and preach. If you have leaders there who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory. They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.
6-8 A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.
9-10 But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.
Running Hard
11-12 But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.
13-16 I’m charging you before the life-giving God and before Christ, who took his stand before Pontius Pilate and didn’t give an inch: Keep this command to the letter, and don’t slack off. Our Master, Jesus Christ, is on his way. He’ll show up right on time, his arrival guaranteed by the Blessed and Undisputed Ruler, High King, High God. He’s the only one death can’t touch, his light so bright no one can get close. He’s never been seen by human eyes—human eyes can’t take him in! Honor to him, and eternal rule! Oh, yes.
17-19 Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.
20-21 And oh, my dear Timothy, guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith.
Overwhelming grace keep you!
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