I Timothy 1-3

I Timothy 1

¹Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the order of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our hope;

²To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³It was my desire, when I went on into Macedonia, that you might make a stop at Ephesus, to give orders to certain men not to put forward a different teaching,

⁴Or to give attention to stories and long lists of generations, from which come questionings and doubts, in place of God's ordered way of life which is in faith;

⁵But the effect of the order is love coming from a clean heart, and a knowledge of what is right, and true faith:

⁶From which some have been turned away, giving themselves to foolish talking;

⁷Desiring to be teachers of the law, though they have no knowledge of what they say or of the statements which they make so certainly.

⁸We are conscious that the law is good, if a man makes a right use of it,

⁹With the knowledge that the law is made, not for the upright man, but for those who have no respect for law and order, for evil men and sinners, for the unholy and those who have no religion, for those who put their fathers or mothers to death, for takers of life,

¹⁰For those who go after loose women, for those with unnatural desires, for those who take men prisoners, who make false statements and false oaths, and those who do any other things against the right teaching,

¹¹Which may be seen in the good news of the glory of the great God, which was given into my care.

¹²I give praise to him who gave me power, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he took me to be true, making me his servant,

¹³Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith;

¹⁴And the grace of our Lord was very great, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵It is a true saying, in which all may put their faith, that Christ Jesus came into the world to give salvation to sinners, of whom I am the chief:

¹⁶But for this reason I was given mercy, so that in me, the chief of sinners, Jesus Christ might make clear all his mercy, as an example to those who in the future would have faith in him to eternal life.

¹⁷Now to the King eternal, ever-living, unseen, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. So be it.

¹⁸This order I give to you, Timothy my son, in harmony with the words of the prophets about you, so that by them you may be strong, fighting the good fight,

¹⁹Keeping faith, and being conscious of well-doing; for some, by not doing these things, have gone wrong in relation to the faith:

²⁰Such are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have given up to Satan, so that they may say no more evil words against God.

I Timothy 2

¹My desire is, first of all, that you will make requests and prayers and give praise for all men;

²For kings and all those in authority; so that we may have a calm and quiet life in all fear of God and serious behaviour.

³This is good and pleasing in the eyes of God our Saviour;

⁴Whose desire is that all men may have salvation and come to the knowledge of what is true.

⁵For there is one God and one peacemaker between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

⁶Who gave himself as an offering for all; witness of which was to be given at the right time;

⁷And of this I became a preacher and an Apostle (what I say is true, not false,) and a teacher of the Gentiles in the true faith.

⁸It is my desire, then, that in every place men may give themselves to prayer, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or argument.

⁹And that women may be dressed in simple clothing, with a quiet and serious air; not with twisted hair and gold or jewels or robes of great price;

¹⁰But clothed with good works, as is right for women who are living in the fear of God.

¹¹Let a woman quietly take the place of a learner and be under authority.

¹²In my opinion it is right for a woman not to be a teacher, or to have rule over a man, but to be quiet.

¹³For Adam was first formed, then Eve;

¹⁴And Adam was not taken by deceit, but the woman, being tricked, became a wrongdoer.

¹⁵But if they go on in faith and love and holy self-control, she will be kept safe at the time of childbirth.

I Timothy 3

¹This is a true saying, A man desiring the position of a Bishop has a desire for a good work.

²The Bishop, then, is to be a man of good name, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, serious-minded, having respect for order, opening his house freely to guests, a ready teacher;

³Not quickly moved to wrath or blows, but gentle; no fighter, no lover of money;

⁴Ruling his house well, having his children under control with all serious behaviour;

⁵(For if a man has not the art of ruling his house, how will he take care of the church of God?)

⁶Not one newly taken into the church, for fear that, through his high opinion of himself, he may come into the same sin as the Evil One.

⁷And he is to have a good name among those outside the church, so that nothing may be said against him and he may not be taken by the designs of the Evil One.

⁸Deacons, in the same way, are to be serious in their behaviour, not false in word, not given to taking much wine or greatly desiring the wealth of this world;

⁹Keeping the secret of the faith in a heart free from sin.

¹⁰And let these first be put to the test; then let them become Deacons if there is nothing against them.

¹¹Women are to be serious in behaviour, saying no evil of others, controlling themselves, true in all things.

¹²Let Deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their houses well.

¹³For those who have done good work as Deacons get for themselves a good position and become free from fear in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I am writing these things to you, though I am hoping to come to you before long;

¹⁵But if I am long in coming, this will make clear to you what behaviour is right for men in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of what is true.

¹⁶And without argument, great is the secret of religion: He who was seen in the flesh, who was given God's approval in the spirit, was seen by the angels, of whom the good news was given among the nations, in whom the world had faith, who was taken up in glory.