Salutation

¹ The elder^[a] to the elect lady^[b] and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, ² because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us for ever:

³ Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

Truth and Love

⁴ I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children following the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. ⁵ And now I beg you, lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love. ⁷ For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you^[c] have worked for, but may win a full reward. ⁹ Any one who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting; ¹¹ for he who greets him shares his wicked work.

Final Greetings

¹² Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

¹³ The children^[d] of your elect sister greet you.

Salutation

¹ The elder to the beloved Ga′ius, whom I love in the truth.

Gaius Commended for His Hospitality

² Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in health; I know that it is well with your soul. ³ For I greatly rejoiced when some of the brethren arrived and testified to the truth of your life, as indeed you do follow the truth. ⁴ No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth.

⁵ Beloved, it is a loyal thing you do when you render any service to the brethren, especially to strangers, ⁶ who have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey as befits God’s service. ⁷ For they have set out for his sake and have accepted nothing from the heathen. ⁸ So we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers in the truth.

Diotrephes and Demetrius

⁹ I have written something to the church; but Diot′rephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge my authority. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, prating against me with evil words. And not content with that, he refuses himself to welcome the brethren, and also stops those who want to welcome them and puts them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. He who does good is of God; he who does evil has not seen God. ¹² Deme′trius^[a] has testimony from every one, and from the truth itself; I testify to him too, and you know my testimony is true.

Final Greetings

¹³ I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink; ¹⁴ I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face.

¹⁵ Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them.

False Asceticism

4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, ² through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, ³ who forbid marriage^[a] and enjoin abstinence from foods^[b] which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵ for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

A Good Minister of Jesus Christ

⁶ If you put these instructions before the brethren, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed. ⁷ Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths. Train yourself in godliness; ⁸ for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ⁹ The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end we toil and strive,^[c] because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

¹¹ Command and teach these things. ¹² Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Till I come, attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you. ¹⁵ Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶ Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Duties toward Believers

5 Do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as you would a father; treat younger men like brothers, ² older women like mothers, younger women like sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows who are real widows.^{[d] 4} If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn their religious duty to their own family and make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. ⁵ She who is a real widow, and is left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day; ⁶ whereas she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. ⁷ Command this, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ If any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband; ¹⁰ and she must be well attested for her good deeds, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way. ¹¹ But refuse to enrol younger widows; for when they grow wanton against Christ they desire to marry, ¹² and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge.^{[e] 13} Besides that, they learn to be idlers, gadding about from house to house, and not only idlers but gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. ¹⁴ So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, rule their households, and give the enemy no occasion to revile us. ¹⁵ For some have already strayed after Satan. ¹⁶ If any believing woman^[f] has relatives who are widows, let her assist them; let the church not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are real widows.

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching; ¹⁸ for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” ¹⁹ Never admit any charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. ²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without favor, doing nothing from partiality. ²² Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man’s sins; keep yourself pure.

²³ No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴ The sins of some men are conspicuous, pointing to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. ²⁵ So also good deeds are conspicuous; and even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden.

6 Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be defamed. ² Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brethren; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved.

False Teaching and True Riches

Teach and urge these duties. ³ If any one teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching which accords with godliness, ⁴ he is puffed up with conceit, he knows nothing; he has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, ⁵ and wrangling among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. ⁶ There is great gain in godliness with contentment; ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, and^[g] we cannot take anything out of the world; ⁸ but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.

The Good Fight of Faith

¹¹ But as for you, man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, ¹⁴ I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; ¹⁵ and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷ As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, ¹⁹ thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed.

Personal Instructions and Benediction

²⁰ O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, ²¹ for by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith.

Grace be with you.