1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ^[a] our hope; ² to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³ As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine, ⁴ and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith— ⁵ but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith, ⁶ from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor about what they strongly affirm. ⁸ But we know that the law is good, if a person uses it lawfully, ⁹ as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, ¹⁰ for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine, ¹¹ according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

¹² I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service; ¹³ although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ¹⁶ However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸ I commit this instruction to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which were given to you before, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ holding faith and a good conscience, which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith, ²⁰ of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.