Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope,

to Timothy my genuine child in faith: spiritual blessing, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

But the aim of your instruction is to be love that flows out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

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.

as measured by the glorious good news of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

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,

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.

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.

To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.

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,

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.

Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan to be so disciplined that they will stop their abusive speech.

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties, prayers, and thanksgiving be offered for all men,

who is ever willing for all mankind to be saved and to come to an increasing knowledge of the truth.

So I want the men everywhere to offer prayer, lifting to heaven holy hands which are kept unstained by anger and dissensions.

but with good deeds; for this is appropriate for women who profess to be pious.

But women will be saved through motherhood, if they continue to live in faith, love, and purity, blended with good sense.

This is a saying to be trusted: "Whoever aspires to the office of pastor desires an excellent work."

So the pastor must be a man above reproach, must have only one wife, must be temperate, sensible, well-behaved, hospitable, skillful in teaching;

He must not be a new convert, or else becoming conceited he may incur the doom the devil met.

Deacons, too, must be serious, sincere in their talk, not addicted to strong drink or dishonest gain,

They, too, should first be tested till approved, and then, if they are found above reproach, they should serve as deacons.

The deaconesses too must be serious, not gossips; they must be temperate and perfectly trustworthy.

Undoubtedly the mystery of our religion is a great wonder: "He was made visible in human form; He was vindicated by the Spirit; He was seen by angels; He was proclaimed among the heathen; He was trusted in throughout the world; He was taken up to glory."

For everything in God's creation is good, and nothing is to be refused, provided it is accepted with thanksgiving;

for in this way it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

If you continue to put these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, ever feeding your own soul on the truths of the faith and of the fine teaching which you have followed.

This is a saying to be trusted and deserves to be accepted by all.

Continue cultivating these things; be devoted to them, so that everybody will see your progress.

Make it your habit to pay close attention to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things, for if you do you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in the treatment of their own families, and to pay the debt they owe their parents or grandparents, for this is acceptable to God.

Continue to give these directions so that the people may be without reproach.

No widow under sixty years of age should be put on this roll. A widow must have had but one husband,

Besides, as they get the habit of gadding about from house to house, they learn to be idle, and not only idle but gossips and busybodies, talking of things they ought not to mention.

If a Christian woman has widowed relatives, she should help them, and let the church be free from the burden, so that it can help the widows who are really dependent.

Elders who do their duties well should be considered as deserving twice the salary they get especially those who keep on toiling in preaching and teaching.

For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox when he is treading out the grain," and, "The workman deserves his pay."

Make it a rule not to consider a charge preferred against an elder, unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.

Those who are guilty reprove in public, so that others may be warned.

Make it a rule not to ordain anyone in haste, and not to be responsible for the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

Good deeds, too, are usually very evident, and if they are not, they cannot be completely concealed.

All who are under the yoke of slavery must esteem their masters to be deserving the highest respect, so that the name of God and our teaching may not be abused.

Those who have Christian masters must not pay them less respect because they are brothers; they must serve them all the better, because those who get the benefit of their service are believers and so are dear to them. These are the things that you must continue to teach and urge them to do.

If we have food and clothes we will be satisfied.

But you, as a man of God, must be fleeing always from these things; you must constantly strive for uprightness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

which will be brought about in His own time by the blessed, only Sovereign, the King of kings, the Lord of lords,

who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

by professing which some individuals have failed in the faith. Spiritual blessing be with you all.