Greeting
1 Paul, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua by the command of God our Savior and Messiah Yeshua, our hope.
2 To Timothy, a true child in faith:
Grace, mercy, shalom from God the Father and Messiah Yeshua, our Lord!
Beware of False Teachers
3 As I urged you, when I was leaving for Macedonia, stay in Ephesus to direct certain people not to pass on different instruction, 4 or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These give rise to useless speculations rather than God’s training which is in faithfulness. 5 Now the goal of this command is love from of a pure heart and a clear conscience and a genuine faith. 6 Some, having missed the mark, have turned away to fruitless discussion— 7 wanting to be teachers of Torah, even though they do not understand what they keep saying or what they so dogmatically assert.
8 But we know that the Torah is good if one uses it legitimately, 9 knowing that the Torah is not given for a tzaddik but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, homosexuals, slave-traders, liars, perjurers, and for anything else that opposes sound teaching— 11 in keeping with what was entrusted to me, the glorious Good News of the blessed God.
Mercy to the Worst of Sinners
12 I thank Messiah Yeshua our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to service— 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. Yet I was shown mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed with the faith and love that are in Messiah Yeshua. 15 Trustworthy is the saying and deserving of complete acceptance: “Messiah Yeshua came into the world to save sinners”—of whom I am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I was shown mercy—so that in me as the foremost, Messiah Yeshua might demonstrate His complete patience, as an example for those about to put their trust in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God,[a] be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Fight the Good Fight
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy my son, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you, so that by them you fight the good fight, 19 holding onto faith and a good conscience. By rejecting these, some have suffered shipwreck regarding their faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander—whom I have handed over to satan to be disciplined not to blaspheme.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 1:17 Some mss. read the only wise God.