Address

1- 1 From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus appointed by the command of God our saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 to Timothy, true child of mine in the faith; wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.

Suppress the false teachers

3 As I asked you when I was leaving for Macedonia, please stay at Ephesus, to insist that certain people stop teaching strange doctrines 4 and taking notice of myths and endless genealogies; these things are only likely to raise irrelevant doubts instead of furthering the design of God which are revealed in faith. 5 The only purpose of this instruction is that there should be love, coming out of a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith. 6 There are some people who have gone off the straight course and taken a road that leads to empty speculation; 7 They claim to be doctors of the Law but they understand neither the arguments they are using nor the opinion they are upholding.

The purpose of the Law

8 We know, of course, that the Law is good, but only provided it is treated like any law, 9 in the understanding that laws are not framed for people who are good. On the contrary, they are for criminals and revolutionaries, for the irreligious and wicked, for the sacrilegious and the irreverent; they are for people who kill their fathers or mothers and for murderers, 10 for those who are immoral with women or with boys or with men, for liars and for perjurers - and for everything else that is contrary to the sound teaching 11 that goes with the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, the gospel that was entrusted to me.

Paul on his own calling

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service 13 even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; 14 and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; 16 and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. 17 To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Timothy's responsibility

18 Timothy, my son, these are the instructions that I am giving you: I ask you to remember the words once spoken over you by the prophets, and taking them to heart to fight like a good soldier 19 with faith and a good conscience for your weapons. Some people have put conscience aside and wrecked their faith in consequence. 20 I mean men like Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to teach them not to be blasphemous.

Liturgical prayer

2- 1 My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for anyone - petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving - 2 and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. 3 To do this is right, and will please God our Saviour: 4 he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, 6 who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence of this, sent at the appointed time, and 7 I have been named a herald and apostle of it and - I am telling the truth and no lie - a teacher of the faith and the truth to the pagans.

8 In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.

Women in the assembly

9 Similarly, I direct that women are to wear suitable clothes and to be dressed quietly and modestly, without braided hair or gold and jewelry or expensive clothes; their adornment is 10 to do the sort of good works that are proper for women who profess to be religious. 11 During instruction, a woman should be quiet and peaceful. 12 I am not giving permission for a woman to teach or to tell a man what to do. A woman ought not to speak, 13 because Adam was formed first and Eve afterward, 14 and it was not Adam who was led astray but the woman who was led astray and fell into sin. 15 Nevertheless, she will be saved by childbearing, provided she lives a modest life and is constant in faith and love and holiness.

The elder in charge

3- 1 Here is a saying you can rely on: To want to be a presiding elder is to want to do noble work. 2 That is why the president must have an impeccable character. He must not have been married more than once, and he must be temperate, discreet and courteous, hospitable and a good teacher; 3 not a heavy drinker, not hot-tempered, but kind and peaceable. He must not be a lover of money. 4 He must be a man who manages his own family well and brings his children up to obey him and be well-behaved: 5 how can any man who does not understand how to manage his own family have responsibility for the church of God? 6 He should not be a new convert, in case pride might turn his head and then he might be condemned as the devil was condemned. 7 It is also necessary that people outside the Church should speak well of him, so that he never gets a bad reputation and falls into the devil's trap.

Deacons

8 In the same way, deacons must be respectable men whose word can be trusted, moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for money. 9 They must be conscientious believers in the mystery of the faith. 10 They are to be examine first, and only admitted to serve as deacons if there is nothing against them. 11 In the same way, the women must be respectable, not gossips but sober and quite reliable. 12 Deacons must not have been married more than once, and must be men who manage their children and families well. 13 Those of them who carry out their duties well as deacons will earn a high standing for themselves and be rewarded with great assurance in their work for the faith in Christ Jesus.

The Church and the mystery of the spiritual life

14 At the moment of writing to you, I am hoping that I may be with you soon; 15 but in case I should be delayed, I wanted you to know how people ought to behave in God's family - that is, in the Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keep it safe. 16 Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed:

He was made visible in the flesh,

attested by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

proclaimed to the pagans,

believed in by the world,

taken up in glory.

False teachers

4- 1 The Spirit has explicitly said that during the last times there will be some who will desert the faith and choose to listen to deceitful spirits and doctrines that come from devils; 2 and the cause of this is the lies told by hypocrites whose consciences are branded as though with a red-hot iron: 3 they will say marriage is forbidden. And lay down rules about abstaining from foods which God created to be accepted with thanksgiving by all who believe and who know the truth. 4 Everything God has created is good, and no food is to be rejected, provided grace is said for it: 5 the word of God and the prayer make it holy. 6 If you put all this to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus and show that you have really digested the teaching of the faith and the good doctrine which you have always followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales. Train yourself spiritually. 8 "Physical exercises are useful enough, but the usefulness of spirituality is unlimited, since it holds out a reward of life here and now and of the future life as well"; 9 that is to saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt it. 10 I mean that the point of all our toiling and battling is that we have put our trust in the living God and he is the saviour of the whole human race but particularly of all believers. 11 This is what you are to enforce in your teaching.

12 Do not let people disregard you because you are young, but be an example to all the believers in the way you speak and behave, and in your love, your faith and your purity. 13 Make use of the time until I arrive by reading to the people, preaching and teaching. 14 You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the body of elders laid their hands on you; do not let it lie unused. 15 Think hard about all this, and put it into practice, and everyone will be able to see how you are advancing. 16 Take great care about what you do and what you teach; always do this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

Pastoral practice

5- 1 Do not speak harshly to a man older than yourself, but advise him as you would your own father; treat the younger men as brothers 2 and older women as you would your mother. Always treat young women with propriety, as if they were sisters.

Widows

3 Be considerate to widows; I mean those who are truly widows. 4 If a widow has children or grandchildren, they are to learn first of all to do their duty to their own families and repay their debt to their parents, because this is what pleases God. 5 But a woman who is really widowed and left without anybody can give herself up to God and consecrate all her days and nights to petitions and prayer. 6 The one who thinks only of pleasure is already dead while she is still alive: 7 remind them of all this, too, so that their lives may be blameless. 8 Anyone who does not look after his own relations, especially if they are living with him, has rejected the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

9 Enrollment as a widow is permissible only for a woman at least sixty years old who has had only one husband. 10 She must be a woman known for her good works and for the way in which she has brought up her children, shown hospitality to strangers and washed the saints' feet, helped people who are in trouble and been active in all kinds of good work. 11 Do not accept younger widows because if their natural desires get stronger than their dedication to Christ, they want to marry again, 12 and then people condemn them for being unfaithful to their original promise. 13 Besides, they learn how to be idle and go around from house to house; and then, not merely idle, they learn to be gossips and meddlers in other people's affairs, and to chatter when they would be better keeping quiet. 14 I think it is best for young widows to marry again and have children and a home to look after, and not give the enemy any chance to raise a scandal about them; 15 there are already some who have left us to follow Satan. 16 If a Christian woman has widowed relatives, she should support them and not make the Church bear the expense but enable it to support those who are genuinely widows.

The elders

17 The elders who do their work well while they are in charge are to be given double consideration, especially those who are assiduous in preaching and teaching. 18 As scripture says: You must not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the corn; and again: The worker deserves his pay. 19 Never accept any accusation brought against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. 20 If any of them are at fault, reprimand them publicly, as a warning to the rest. 21 Before God, and before Jesus Christ and the angels he has chosen, I put it to you as a duty to keep these rules impartially and never to be influenced by favouritism. 22 Do not be too quick to lay hands on any man, and never make yourself an accomplice in anybody else's sin; keep yourself pure.

23 You should give up drinking only water and have a little wine for the sake of your digestion and the frequent bouts of illness that you have.

24 The faults of some people are obvious long before anyone makes any complaint about them, while others have faults that are not discovered until afterward. 25 In the same way, the good that people do can be obvious; but even when it is not, it cannot be hidden for ever.

Slaves

6- 1 All slaves "under the yoke" must have unqualified respect for their masters, so that the name of God and our teaching are not brought into disrepute. 2 Slaves whose masters are believers are not to think any the less of them because they are brothers; on the contrary, they should serve them all the better, since those who have the benefit of their services are believers and dear to God.

The true teacher and the false teacher

This is what you are to teach them to believe and persuade them to do. 3 Anyone who teaches anything different, and does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, 4 is simply ignorant and must be full of self-conceit - with a craze for questioning everything and arguing about words. All that can come of this is jealousy, contention, abuse and wicked mistrust of one another; 5 and unending disputes by people who are neither rational nor informed and imagine that religion is a way of making profit. 6 Religion, of course, does bring large profits, but only to those who are content with what they have. 7 We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it; 8 but as long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that. 9 People who long to be rich are a prey to temptation; they get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 "The love of money is the root of all evils" and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith, and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds.

Timothy's vocation recalled

11 But, as a man dedicated to God, you must avoid all that. You must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. 13 Now, before God the source of all life and before Jesus Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty 14 of doing all that you have been told, with no fault or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

16 who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light, whom no man has seen and no man is able to see: to him honour and everlasting power. Amen.

Rich Christians

17 Warn those who are rich in this world's goods that they are not to look down on other people; and not to set their hopes on money, which is untrustworthy, but on God who, out of his riches, gives us all that we need for our happiness. 18 Tell them that they are to do good, and be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share - 19 this is the way they can save up a good capital sum for the future if they want to make sure of the only life that is real.

Final warning and conclusion

20 My dear Timothy, take great care of all that has been entrusted to you. Have nothing to do with the pointless philosophical discussions and antagonistic beliefs of the "knowledge" which is not knowledge at all; 21 by adopting this, some have gone right away from the faith. Grace be with you.