Beginning

True teaching about the truth

1 Paul, an apostle of Messiah Jesus according to the command of God our savior and Messiah Jesus our hope, ² to Timothy, my true child in faith: grace, mercy and peace from God the father and Messiah Jesus our Lord.

³ This is my charge to you, just as it was when I went to Macedonia: stay in Ephesus, so that you can tell the relevant people not to teach anything different, ⁴ or to cling on to myths and endless genealogies. That sort of thing breeds disputes rather than the instruction in faith that comes from God. ⁵ The goal of such instruction is love—the love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith. ⁶ Some people have wandered off from these things and turned aside to foolish talk. ⁷ They want to be teachers of the law; but they don’t understand either what they’re talking about or the things about which they pronounce so confidently.

The purpose of the law

⁸ We know, after all, that the law is good—if someone uses it lawfully! ⁹ We recognize that the law is not laid down for people who are in the right, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinners, the unholy and worldly, for people who kill their father or mother, for murderers, ¹⁰ fornicators, practicing homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and those who practice any other behavior contrary to healthy teaching, ¹¹ in accordance with the gospel of the glory of God the blessed one that was entrusted to me.

Paul as an example of God’s saving grace

¹² I thank Messiah Jesus our Lord, who gave me strength. He regarded me as trustworthy by appointing me to his service— ¹³ even though I used to say blasphemous things against him, and persecuted his people violently! But I received mercy, because in my unbelief I didn’t know what I was doing. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was more than enough for me, with the faith and love that are in Messiah Jesus. ¹⁵ Here is a word you can trust, which deserves total approval: “Messiah Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I’m the worst of them! ¹⁶ But this was why I received mercy: so that in me, precisely as the worst, Messiah Jesus could demonstrate the full scale of his patience, and make me a pattern for those who were going to believe in him and so attain the life of the age to come. ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, the one and only God, immortal and invisible, be honor and glory to the ages of ages, Amen!

The battle of faith

¹⁸ I am giving you this command, Timothy my child, in accordance with the prophecies which were made about you before, so that, as they said, you may fight the glorious battle, ¹⁹ holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected conscience, and their faith has been shipwrecked. ²⁰ I include Hymenaeus and Alexander in that category. Indeed, I have handed them over to the satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

The first rule: prayer for the world

2 So, then, this is my very first command: God’s people should make petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings on behalf of all people— ² on behalf of kings, and all who hold high office, so that we may lead a tranquil and peaceful life, in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good; it is acceptable with God our savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth. ⁵ For, you see,

⁷ This is why I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I’m speaking the truth, I’m not lying!), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Women must be allowed to be learners

⁸ So this is what I want: the men should pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, with no anger or disputing. ⁹ In the same way the women, too, should clothe themselves decently, being modest and sensible about it. They should not go in for elaborate hairstyles, or gold, or pearls, or expensive clothes. ¹⁰ Instead, as is appropriate for women who profess to be godly, they should adorn themselves with good works. ¹¹ They must study undisturbed, in full submission to God. ¹² I’m not saying that women should teach men, or try to dictate to them; rather, that they should be left undisturbed. ¹³ Adam was created first, you see, and then Eve; ¹⁴ and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived, and fell into trespass. ¹⁵ She will, however, be kept safe through the process of childbirth, if she continues in faith, love and holiness with prudence.

The character of a bishop

3 Here is a trustworthy saying: if someone is eager for the work of overseeing God’s people, the task they seek is a fine one. ² The bishop must be beyond reproach. He must not have more than one wife. He must be temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, a good teacher. ³ He must not be a heavy drinker, or violent, but must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not in love with money. ⁴ He must be good at managing his own household, with his children being subject to him with all godliness. ⁵ (After all, if a man doesn’t know how to run his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?) ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, in case he gets puffed up and falls into the devil’s condemnation. ⁷ In addition, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he may not incur reproach and fall into the devil’s snare.

The character of deacons

⁸ In the same way, deacons must be serious-minded, not the sort of people who say one thing today and another tomorrow, not heavy drinkers, not eager for shameful gain. ⁹ They must hold on to the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. ¹⁰ They must first be tested; then, when they have been found without reproach, they may serve as deacons. ¹¹ The womenfolk, too, should be serious-minded, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things. ¹² Deacons should have only one wife, and should be well in charge of their children and their own households. ¹³ Those who serve well as deacons, you see, gain a good platform for themselves to speak out boldly in the faith which is in Messiah Jesus.

The mystery of godliness

¹⁴ I’m writing this to you in the hope that I’ll be able to come to you in the near future. ¹⁵ But, if I’m delayed, this will help you to know how people should behave in God’s household, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and firm foundation of the truth. ¹⁶ Indeed, the mystery of godliness is certainly great:

Beware of false teaching!

4 Now the spirit specifically declares that in the last times some people will abandon the faith, and will cling on to deceitful spirits and demonic teachings ² perpetrated by hypocritical false teachers whose consciences are branded with a hot iron. ³ They will forbid marriage, and teach people to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by people who believe and know the truth. ⁴ Every creation of God, you see, is good; nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ for then it is made holy by God’s word and prayer.

Get into training!

⁶ Set these instructions before the family. If you do this, you will be a good servant of Messiah Jesus; you will be nourished by the words of faith and the good teaching which you have been following. ⁷ Keep well away from worthless myths, the sort of things some old women mumble on about.

Go into training in godliness! ⁸ Physical exercise, you see, has a limited usefulness, but godliness is useful in every way. It carries the promise of life both now and in the future. ⁹ That saying is trustworthy; it deserves to be accepted totally! ¹⁰ This is what we are working and struggling for, you see, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all people—more especially, of believers.

Pay attention to yourself and your teaching

¹¹ You must urge and teach these things. ¹² Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example to the believers in what you say, how you behave, in love, faith and holiness. ¹³ Until I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation and to teaching. ¹⁴ Don’t neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy when the elders laid hands on you. ¹⁵ Work hard at these things; give yourself to them, so that everyone may see your progress. ¹⁶ Pay attention to yourself and your teaching, and keep steadily on with them. If you do that, you see, you will save yourself, and those who hear you as well.

Human families and God’s family

5 Don’t rebuke a senior man in the church, but exhort him as you might do with your father—or, in the case of younger ones, with your brothers. ² Treat the older women as mothers, and the younger ones as sisters, with all purity.

³ Pay respect to widows who really are widows. ⁴ If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to respect their own family and to make some repayment to those who brought them up. This, you see, pleases God. ⁵ A real widow is one who, left by herself, has set her hope on God, and continues in prayer and supplication night and day; ⁶ but a self-indulgent woman is dead even while she’s alive. ⁷ Give these commands so that they may be beyond blame. ⁸ If anyone doesn’t take care of their own relatives, especially their own household, they have denied the faith; they are worse than unbelievers.

Widows

⁹ Let a woman be registered as a widow if she is at least sixty years old, the wife of one husband, ¹⁰ with a reputation for good works, having brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of God’s people, helped those who were suffering, and been steadfast in doing good wherever she can. ¹¹ Refuse to register younger widows. When their desires become strong against the Messiah, you see, they will want to marry, ¹² and they will receive condemnation because they have abandoned their earlier faith. ¹³ In addition, they learn the habit of idleness, going around from one house to another, not only wasting their time but gossiping and meddling, saying things they shouldn’t.

¹⁴ So this is my wish: the younger ones should marry, have children, run their households and give the enemy no opportunity to slander us ¹⁵ (some, you see, have already gone off after the satan!) ¹⁶ If any believing woman has relatives who are widowed, let her help them, so that the church won’t be burdened. That way, it can help widows who really are widows.

Elders

¹⁷ Elders who are good leaders ought to be paid double, particularly those who work hard in speaking and teaching. ¹⁸ The Bible says, you see, “Don’t muzzle an ox when it’s threshing,” and “the worker deserves his pay.”

¹⁹ Don’t accept an accusation against an elder, unless it is supported “by two or three witnesses.” ²⁰ When people persist in sin, rebuke them openly, so that the rest may be afraid.

²¹ Before God, Messiah Jesus and the chosen angels, I give you solemn warning to keep these commands without discrimination. Never act out of favoritism. ²² Don’t be too quick to lay hands on anyone; don’t share in other people’s sins. Keep yourself pure.

²³ You should stop confining yourself to drinking water. Use wine (in moderation!). That will be good for your digestion, and for the physical problems you often have.

²⁴ Some people’s sins are obvious, and walk ahead of them into the courtroom. Other people’s follow them there. ²⁵ In the same way, good works are obvious; but, even when they aren’t, they can’t stay hidden forever.

Slaves, masters and sound teaching

6 All who live as slaves, “under the yoke” so to speak, should consider their own masters as worthy of all respect, so that people may not say wicked things against the name of God and the teaching. ² Those who have masters who are also believers should not look down on them because they are brothers, but rather give them service, since those who receive the benefit of their work are beloved fellow believers.

Teach these things, and exhort people to do them. ³ Some people teach other things, and don’t hold firmly to the healthy words of our Lord Messiah Jesus, and the teaching which goes with piety; ⁴ people like that are conceited and have no understanding. They have a diseased craving for disputes and arguments about words. That just leads to envy, jealousy, evil speaking, wicked suspicions ⁵ and irritating arguments among people with depraved minds who have lost their grip on the truth and imagine that godliness is a means of gain.

Godliness and contentment

⁶ If it’s gain you want, though, there is plenty to be had in godliness—if it’s combined with contentment. ⁷ We brought nothing into the world, after all, and we certainly can’t take anything out. ⁸ If we have food and clothing, we should be satisfied with it. ⁹ People who want to be rich, by contrast, fall into temptation and a trap, into many foolish and dangerous lusts which drown people in devastation and destruction. ¹⁰ The love of money, you see, is the root of all evil. Some people have been so eager to get rich that they have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves painfully in several ways.

The Messiah’s royal appearing

¹¹ But you, man of God—you must run away from all this. Instead, chase after justice, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness. ¹² Fight the noble fight of the faith, get a firm grasp on the life of the coming age, the life you were called to when you made the noble public profession before many witnesses. ¹³ I give you this charge before God, who gives life to all things, and Messiah Jesus, who made the noble profession before Pontius Pilate: ¹⁴ be undefiled and blameless as you keep the commandment, until the royal appearing of our Lord Messiah Jesus, ¹⁵ which the blessed and only Sovereign One, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at its proper time. ¹⁶ He is the only one who possesses immortality; he lives in unapproachable light; no human being has seen him, or can see him. To him be eternal honor and power, Amen!

What to do with money

¹⁷ What about people who are rich in this present world? Tell them not to think of themselves too highly, and to set their hopes, not on something so uncertain as riches, but on the God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous and eager to share. ¹⁹ That way, they will treasure up for themselves a good foundation for the future, and thereby come to possess the life which really is life.

²⁰ Well then, Timothy: keep guard over what has been entrusted to you. Turn away from the pointless and empty talk and contradictions of what is wrongly called “knowledge.” ²¹ Some have claimed to be experts in it, but have missed the target when it comes to the faith.

Grace be with you all.