1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 to Timothy my genuine child in faith: spiritual blessing, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I begged you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, I still beg you to stay on in Ephesus to warn certain teachers
4 to stop devoting themselves to myths and never-ending pedigrees, for such things lead to controversies rather than stimulate our trusteeship to God through faith.
5 But the aim of your instruction is to be love that flows out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
6 Some people have stepped aside from these things and turned to fruitless talking.
7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they do not understand the words they use or the things about which they make such confident assertions.
8 Indeed, I know that the law is an excellent thing, if a man makes a lawful use of it;
9 that is, if he understands that law is not enacted for upright people but for the lawless and disorderly, the godless and sinful, the ignorant and profane, people who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers,
10 the immoral, men who practice sodomy, men who make other men their slaves, liars, perjurers, or anything else that is contrary to sound teaching,
11 as measured by the glorious good news of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
12 I am always thanking Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength for it, for thinking me trustworthy and putting me into the ministry,
13 though I once used to abuse, persecute, and insult Him. But mercy was shown me by Him, because I did it in ignorance and unbelief,
14 and the spiritual blessing of our Lord in increasing floods has come upon me, accompanied by faith and love inspired by union with Christ Jesus.
15 It is a saying to be trusted and deserves our fullest acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; and I am the foremost of them.
16 Yet, mercy was shown me for the very purpose that in my case as the foremost of sinners Jesus might display His perfect patience, to make me an example to those who in the future might believe on Him to obtain eternal life.
17 To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.
18 This is the instruction which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, which is in accordance with the prophetic utterances formerly made about you, that you may, aided by them, continue to fight the good fight,
19 by keeping your hold on faith and a good conscience; for some have thrust the latter aside and so have made shipwreck of their faith.
20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan to be so disciplined that they will stop their abusive speech.