^12 (A)Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers ^(B)an 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 (C)Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you ^(D)by prophecy when the council of elders ^(E)laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,^[a] so that ^(F)all may see your progress. ^16 (G)Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save ^(H)both yourself and ^(I)your hearers.

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[a] a worker ^(A)who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.