1 Timothy

New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB)

1Paul,

an apostle of Christ Jesus

according to the commandment of God our Savior,

and of Christ Jesus,

who is our hope,

2To Timothy,

my true child in the faith:

Grace, mercy and peace

from God the Father and  Christ Jesus our Lord.

3As I urged you

upon my departure for Macedonia,

remain on at Ephesus

so that

you may instruct certain men

which give rise to

mere speculation

rather than

furthering the administration of God

which is by faith.

5But the goal of our instruction is love

from

6For

some men,

straying from these things,

have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

7wanting to be teachers of the Law,

even though they do not understand either
what they are saying or
the matters about which they make confident assertions

17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

18This command I entrust to you,

Timothy, my son,

in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you,

that by them

you fight the good fight,

19keeping faith and a good conscience,

which some have rejected and
suffered shipwreck
in regard to their faith.

20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander,
whom I have handed over to Satan,
so that
they will be taught not to blaspheme.

2:1First of all, then,

2for kings and all who are in authority,

so that

3This is good and acceptable in the sight of

5For

8Therefore

I want the men
in every place
to pray,

9Likewise,
I want women
to adorn themselves

11A woman must
quietly receive instruction
with entire submissiveness.

12But I do not allow a woman
to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.

13For

15But women will be saved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

3 It is a trustworthy statement:

if any man aspires to the office of overseer,
it is a fine work he desires to do.

2An overseer, then, must be

8Deacons likewise must be

men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, 9but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.

11Women must likewise be

dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

12Deacons must be

husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. 13For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

14I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

16By common confession,
great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.

4 But the Spirit explicitly says that

in later times

some will fall away from the faith,

paying attention to

2by means of the hypocrisy of

6In pointing out these things

to the brethren,

you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus,

constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.

7But have nothing to do with worldly fables

fit only for old women.

On the other hand,

discipline yourself

for the purpose of godliness;

8for

bodily discipline is only of little profit,
but
godliness is profitable for all things,

since

it holds promise for the present life
and also
for the life to come.

9It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

11Prescribe and teach these things.

12Let no one look down on your youthfulness,

show yourself an example

of those who believe.

13Until I come,

give attention to

14Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you,

which was bestowed on you
through prophetic utterance
with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.

15Take pains with these things;

be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

16Pay close attention

to yourself and
to your teaching;

persevere in these things,

for as you do this
you will ensure salvation both

for yourself and
for those who hear you.

5 Do not sharply rebuke an older man,

but rather appeal

to him as a father,

but
to the younger men as brothers,
2the older women as mothers, and
the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

3Honor widows

who are widows indeed;

4but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 5Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.

6But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.

7 Prescribe these things as well,

so that they may be above reproach.

8But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

9A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, 10having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.

11But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, 12thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. 13At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.

14Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach; 15for some have already turned aside to follow Satan.

16If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed.

17Consider the elders

who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor,
especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

18 For
the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing," and
"The laborer is worthy of his wages."

19Do not receive an accusation against an elder

except on the basis of two or three witnesses.

20Those who continue in sin,

rebuke in the presence of all,

so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

21I solemnly charge you

in the presence of Godand of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to

maintain these principles without bias,

doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.

22Do not

lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby

share responsibility

for the sins of others;

keep yourself free from sin.

23No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

24The sins of some men
are quite evident,
going before them to judgment;

for others,
their sins follow after.

25 Likewise also,

deeds that are good
are quite evident,

and those which are otherwise
cannot be concealed.

6 All who are under the yoke as slaves are to

regard their own masters as worthy of all honor

2Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved.

Teach and preach these principles.

3If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.

6But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 7For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.

8If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

13I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which He will bring about at the proper time - He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

17Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

18Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

20O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge" - 21which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.

Grace be with you.