Greeting

1 Paul, ^aan apostle of Christ Jesus ^bby command of ^cGod our Savior and of Christ Jesus ^dour hope,

2 To Timothy, ^emy true child in the faith:

^fGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Warning Against False Teachers

3 ^gAs I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not ^hto teach any different doctrine, 4 nor ⁱto devote themselves to myths and endless ^jgenealogies, which promote ^kspeculations rather than the stewardship¹ from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love ^lthat issues from a pure heart and ^ma good conscience and ⁿa sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by ^oswerving from these, have wandered away into ^pvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, ^qwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

8 Now we know that ^rthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the ^slaw is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,² liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to ^tsound³ doctrine, 11 in accordance with ^uthe gospel of the glory of ^vthe blessed God ^wwith which I have been entrusted.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

12 I thank him ^xwho has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^yappointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^zpersecutor, and insolent opponent. But ^aI received mercy ^bbecause I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and ^cthe grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the ^dfaith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is ^etrustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus ^fcame into the world to save sinners, ^gof whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To ^hthe King of the ages, ⁱimmortal, ^jinvisible, ^kthe only God, ^lbe honor and glory forever and ever.⁴ Amen.

18 This charge ^mI entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ⁿthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may ^owage the good warfare, 19 ^pholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have ^qmade shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are ^rHymenaeus and ^sAlexander, whom I ^thave handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ^ublaspheme.