Beginning

1 From: Sha’ul, an emissary of the Messiah Yeshua by command of God our deliverer and the Messiah Yeshua our hope,

² To: Timothy, a true son because of your trust:

Grace, mercy and shalom from God the Father and the Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

³ As I counseled you when I was leaving for Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus, so that you may order certain people who are teaching a different doctrine to stop. ⁴ Have them stop devoting their attention to myths and never-ending genealogies; these divert people to speculating instead of doing God’s work, which requires trust. ⁵ The purpose of this order is to promote love from a clean heart, from a good conscience and from sincere trust. ⁶ Some, by aiming amiss, have wandered off into fruitless discussion. ⁷ They want to be teachers of Torah, but they understand neither their own words nor the matters about which they make such emphatic pronouncements. ⁸ We know that the Torah is good, provided one uses it in the way the Torah itself intends. ⁹ We are aware that Torah is not for a person who is righteous, but for those who are heedless of Torah and rebellious, ungodly and sinful, wicked and worldly, for people who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral — both heterosexual and homosexual — slave dealers, liars, perjurers, and anyone who acts contrary to the sound teaching ¹¹ that accords with the Good News of the glorious and blessed God.

This Good News was entrusted to me; ¹² and I thank the one who has given me strength, the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord, that he considered me trustworthy enough to put me in his service, ¹³ even though I used to be a man who blasphemed and persecuted and was arrogant! But I received mercy because I had acted in unbelief, not understanding what I was doing. ¹⁴ Our Lord’s grace overflowed to me with trust and love that come through the Messiah Yeshua. ¹⁵ So here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted: the Messiah came into the world to save sinners, and I’m the number one sinner! ¹⁶ But this is precisely why I received mercy — so that in me, as the number one sinner, Yeshua the Messiah might demonstrate how very patient he is, as an example to those who would later come to trust in him and thereby have eternal life. ¹⁷ So to the King — eternal, imperishable and invisible, the only God there is — let there be honor and glory for ever and ever! Amen.

¹⁸ This charge, son Timothy, I put to you, in keeping with the prophecies already made about you, so that by these prophecies you may fight the good fight, ¹⁹ armed with trust and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, some have made shipwreck of their trust; ²⁰ among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have turned them over to the Adversary, so that they will learn not to insult God.

2 First of all, then, I counsel that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all human beings, ² including kings and all in positions of prominence; so that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives, being godly and upright in everything. ³ This is what God, our Deliverer, regards as good; this is what meets his approval.

⁴ He wants all humanity to be delivered and come to full knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For God is one;^[a] and there is but one Mediator between God and humanity, Yeshua the Messiah, himself human, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom on behalf of all, thus providing testimony to God’s purpose at just the right time. ⁷ This is why I myself was appointed a proclaimer, even an emissary — I am telling the truth, not lying! — a trustworthy and truthful teacher of the Goyim.

⁸ Therefore, it is my wish that when the men pray, no matter where, they should lift up hands that are holy — they should not become angry or get into arguments.

⁹ Likewise, the women, when they pray, should be dressed modestly and sensibly in respectable attire, not with elaborate hairstyles and gold jewelry, or pearls, or expensive clothes. ¹⁰ Rather, they should adorn themselves with what is appropriate for women who claim to be worshipping God, namely, good deeds.

¹¹ Let a woman learn in peace, fully submitted; ¹² but I do not permit a woman to teach a man or exercise authority over him; rather, she is to remain at peace. ¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Havah. ¹⁴ Also it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who, on being deceived, became involved in the transgression. ¹⁵ Nevertheless, the woman will be delivered through childbearing, provided that she continues trusting, loving and living a holy life with modesty.

3 Here is a statement you can trust: anyone aspiring to be a congregation leader is seeking worthwhile work. ² A congregation leader must be above reproach, he must be faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, orderly, hospitable and able to teach. ³ He must not drink excessively or get into fights; rather, he must be kind and gentle. He must not be a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, having children who obey him with all proper respect; ⁵ for if a man can’t manage his own household, how will he be able to care for God’s Messianic Community? ⁶ He must not be a new believer, because he might become puffed up with pride and thus fall under the same judgment as did the Adversary. ⁷ Furthermore, he must be well regarded by outsiders, so that he won’t fall into disgrace and into the Adversary’s trap.

⁸ Likewise, the shammashim must be of good character, people whose word can be trusted. They must not give themselves to excessive drinking or be greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must possess the formerly hidden truth of the faith with a clean conscience. ¹⁰ And first, let them be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them be appointed shammashim. ¹¹ Similarly, the wives must be of good character, not gossips, but temperate, faithful in everything. ¹² Let the shammashim each be faithful to his wife, managing his children and household well. ¹³ For those who serve well as shammashim gain good standing for themselves and much boldness in the trust that comes through Yeshua the Messiah.

¹⁴ I hope to visit you soon; but I am writing these things ¹⁵ so that if I am delayed, you may know how one should behave in the household of God, which is the Messianic Community of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. ¹⁶ Great beyond all question is the formerly hidden truth underlying our faith:

4 The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ² Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron. ³ They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth. ⁴ For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected, ⁵ because the word of God and prayer make it holy.

⁶ If you present all this to the brothers, you will be serving the Messiah Yeshua well; it will show that you have digested the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have followed. ⁷ But refuse godless bubbe-meises, and exercise yourself in godliness. ⁸ For although physical exercise does have some value, godliness is valuable for everything, since it holds promise both for the present life and for the life to come. ⁹ Here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted ¹⁰ (indeed, it is for this that we toil and strive): we have our hope set on a living God who is the deliverer of all humanity, especially of those who trust.

¹¹ Command these things and teach them. ¹² Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your youth; on the contrary, set the believers an example in your speech, behavior, love, trust and purity. ¹³ Until I come, pay attention to the public reading of the Scriptures. ¹⁴ Do not neglect your gift, which you were given through a prophecy when the body of elders gave you s’mikhah. ¹⁵ Be diligent about this work, throw yourself into it, so that your progress may be clear to everyone. ¹⁶ Pay attention to yourself and to the teaching, continue in it, for by so doing you will deliver both yourself and those who hear you.

5 Do not rebuke an older man sharply, but appeal to him as you would to a father; treat younger men like brothers, ² older women like mothers and younger women like sisters, with absolute purity.

³ Show respect to widows who are really in need. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, first let them learn to do their religious duty to their own family and thus repay some of the debt they owe their forebears, for this is what is acceptable in the sight of God. ⁵ Now the widow who is really in need, the one who has been left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in petitions and prayers night and day. ⁶ But the one who is self-indulgent is already dead, even though she lives. ⁷ And instruct them about this, so that they will not be open to blame. ⁸ Moreover, anyone who does not provide for his own people, especially for his family, has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled on the list of widows only if she is more than sixty years old, was faithful to her husband, ¹⁰ and is known for her good deeds — as one who has reared her children well, showed hospitality, washed the feet of God’s people, helped those in trouble, and engaged in all kinds of good work.

¹¹ But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when they begin to feel natural passions that alienate them from the Messiah, they want to get married. ¹² This brings them under condemnation for having set aside the trust they had at first. ¹³ Besides that, they learn to be idle, going around from house to house; and not only idle, but gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t. ¹⁴ Therefore, I would rather the young widows get married, have children and take charge of their homes, so as to give the opposition no occasion for slandering us. ¹⁵ For already some have turned astray to follow the Adversary.

¹⁶ If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, she should provide relief for them — the congregation shouldn’t be burdened, so that it may help the widows who are really in need.

¹⁷ The leaders who lead well should be considered worthy of double honor, especially those working hard at communicating the Word and at teaching. ¹⁸ For the Tanakh says, “You are not to muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain,”^[b] in other words, “The worker deserves his wages.” ¹⁹ Never listen to any accusation against a leader unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.^{[c] 20} Rebuke before the whole assembly those leaders who continue sinning, as a warning to the others. ²¹ Before God, the Messiah Yeshua and the chosen angels, I solemnly charge you to observe these instructions, not pre-judging and not doing anything out of favoritism. ²² Do not be hasty in granting s’mikhah to anyone, and do not share in other people’s sins — keep yourself pure.

²³ Stop drinking water; instead, use a little wine for the sake of your digestion and because of your frequent illnesses.

²⁴ The sins of some people are obvious and go ahead of them to judgment, but the sins of others follow afterwards. ²⁵ Likewise, good deeds are obvious; and even when they are not, they can’t stay hidden.

6 Those who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as worthy of full respect, so that the name of God and the teaching will not be brought into disrepute. ² And those who have believing masters are not to show them less respect on the ground that they are brothers; on the contrary, they should serve all the more diligently, since those benefiting from their service are believers whom they love.

Teach and exhort people about these things. ³ If anyone teaches differently and does not agree to the sound precepts of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and to the doctrine that is in keeping with godliness, ⁴ he is swollen with conceit and understands nothing. Instead, he has a morbid desire for controversies and word-battles, out of which come jealousy, dissension, insults, evil suspicions, ⁵ and constant wrangling among people whose minds no longer function properly and who have been deprived of the truth, so that they imagine that religion is a road to riches. ⁶ Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have. ⁷ For we have brought nothing into the world; and we can take nothing out of it; ⁸ so if we have food and clothing, we will be satisfied with these. ⁹ Furthermore, those whose goal is to be rich fall into temptation; they get trapped in many foolish and hurtful ambitions which plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all the evils; because of this craving, some people have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves to the heart with many pains.

¹¹ But you, as a man of God, flee from these things; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you testified so well to your faith before many witnesses. ¹³ I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before the Messiah Yeshua, who in his witness to Pontius Pilate gave the same good testimony, ¹⁴ to obey your commission spotlessly and irreproachably until our Lord Yeshua the Messiah appears. ¹⁵ His appearing will be brought about in its own time by the blessed and sole Sovereign, who is King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal, who dwells in unapproachable light that no human being has ever seen or can see — to him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

¹⁷ As for those who do have riches in this present world, charge them not to be proud and not to let their hopes rest on the uncertainties of riches but to rest their hopes on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will treasure up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may lay hold of the real life.

²⁰ Oh, Timothy! Keep safe what has been entrusted to you. Turn away from the ungodly babblings and the argumentative opposition of what is falsely called “knowledge.” ²¹ For many who promise this “knowledge” have missed the mark, as far as the faith is concerned. Grace be with you.