Greeting

1Paul,a an apostle of Christ Jesus by the commandb of God our Saviorc and of Christ Jesus our hope:d

2To Timothy,e my true son in the faith.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God thef Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

False Doctrine and Misuse of the Law

3As I urged you when I went to Macedonia,g remain in Ephesush so that you may instruct certain peoplei not to teach different doctrine 4or to pay attention to mythsj and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan,k which operates by faith. 5Now the goal of our instruction is lovel that comes from a pure heart,m a good conscience,n and a sincere faith.o 6Some have deviated from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. 7They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. 8But we know that the law is good,p provided one uses it legitimately. 9We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious,q for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10for the sexually immoralr and homosexuals,s for kidnappers,t liars,u perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teachingv 11based on the glorious gospelw of the blessed God,x which was entrusted to me.y

Paul’s Testimony

12I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthenedz me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry — 13one who was formerly a blasphemer,aa a persecutor,ab and an arrogant man.ac But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. 14And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15This saying is trustworthyad and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the worldae to save sinners”af — and I am the worst of them.ag 16But I received mercyah for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patienceai as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.aj 17Now to the Kingak eternal,al immortal,am invisible, the onlyan God,ao be honorap and gloryaq forever and ever. •Amen.ar

Engage in Battle

18Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the propheciesas previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle, 19having faithat and a good conscience.au Someav have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith. 20Hymenaeusaw and Alexanderax are among them, and I have delivered them to Satan,ay so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.