1 Timothy 5–6; Titus 1–3

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
1 Timothy 5–6

Instructions for the Church

bDo not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, cyounger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

Honor widows dwho are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn eto show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for fthis is pleasing in the sight of God. She gwho is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and hcontinues in supplications and prayers night and day, but ishe who is self-indulgent is jdead even while she lives. kCommand these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for lmembers of his household, he has mdenied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been nthe wife of one husband,1 10 and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has nshown hospitality, ohas washed the feet of the saints, has pcared for the afflicted, and has qdevoted herself to every good work. 11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when rtheir passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry 12 and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. 13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also sgossips and tbusybodies, saying what they should not. 14 So I would have uyounger widows marry, bear children, vmanage their households, and wgive the adversary no occasion for slander. 15 xFor some have already strayed after Satan. 16 If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those ywho are truly widows.

17 Let the elders zwho rule well be considered worthy of adouble honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, bYou shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain, and, cThe laborer deserves his wages. 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except don the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, erebuke them in the presence of all, fso that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels gI charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, hdoing nothing from partiality. 22 iDo not be hasty in the jlaying on of hands, nor ktake part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but luse a little wine mfor the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and neven those that are not cannot remain hidden.

oLet all who are under a yoke as bondservants2 regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, pso that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are qbrothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

False Teachers and True Contentment

rTeach and urge these things. If anyone steaches a different doctrine and does not agree with tthe sound3 words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching uthat accords with godliness, vhe is puffed up with conceit and wunderstands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for xcontroversy and for yquarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people zwho are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, aimagining that godliness is a means of gain. But bgodliness cwith contentment is great gain, for dwe brought nothing into the world, and4 we cannot take anything out of the world. But eif we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But fthose who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ginto a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that hplunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of iall kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

11 But as for you, jO man of God, kflee these things. lPursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 mFight the good fight of the faith. nTake hold of the eternal life oto which you were called and about which you made pthe good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 qI charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, rwho in his testimony before5 Pontius Pilate made pthe good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until sthe appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display tat the proper timehe who is uthe blessed and only Sovereign, vthe King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 wwho alone has immortality, xwho dwells in yunapproachable light, zwhom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

17 As for the rich in athis present age, charge them bnot to be haughty, nor cto set their hopes on dthe uncertainty of riches, but on God, ewho richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, fto be rich in good works, to be generous and gready to share, 19 thus hstoring up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may itake hold of jthat which is truly life.

20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. kAvoid the lirreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

mGrace be with you.6


Titus 1–3

Greeting

Paul, a servant1 of God and aan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and btheir knowledge of the truth, cwhich accords with godliness, din hope of eternal life, which God, ewho never lies, fpromised gbefore the ages began2 and hat the proper time manifested in his word3 ithrough the preaching jwith which I have been entrusted kby the command of God our Savior;

To Titus, lmy true child in ma common faith:

nGrace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

oThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and pappoint elders in every town as I directed you qif anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,4 and his children are believers5 and not open to the charge of rdebauchery or insubordination. For an overseer,6 sas God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not tbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent uor greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, vand disciplined. He must whold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in xsound7 doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, yempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of zthe circumcision party.8 11 They must be silenced, since athey are upsetting whole families by teaching bfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 cOne of the Cretans,9 a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.10 13 This testimony is true. Therefore drebuke them esharply, that they fmay be sound in the faith, 14 gnot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and hthe commands of people iwho turn away from the truth. 15 jTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and kunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ltheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 mThey profess to know God, but they ndeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, ounfit for any good work.

Teach Sound Doctrine

But as for you, teach what accords with psound11 doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, psound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. qOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, rnot slanderers sor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, tpure, uworking at home, kind, and vsubmissive to their own husbands, wthat the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge xthe younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be ya model of good works, and in your teaching zshow integrity, adignity, and bsound speech that cannot be condemned, cso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. dBondservants12 are to be submissive to their own masters ein everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, fbut showing all good faith, gso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11 For hthe grace of God ihas appeared, bringing salvation jfor all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and kworldly passions, and lto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in mthe present age, 13 nwaiting for our blessed ohope, the pappearing of the glory of our great qGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 rwho gave himself for us to sredeem us from all lawlessness and tto purify for himself ta people for his own possession who are uzealous for good works.

15 Declare these things; exhort and vrebuke with all authority. wLet no one disregard you.

Be Ready for Every Good Work

Remind them xto be submissive to rulers and authorities, yto be obedient, to be ready for every good work, zto speak evil of no one, ato avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and bto show perfect courtesy toward all people. For cwe ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when dthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, enot because of works done by us in righteousness, but faccording to his own mercy, by gthe washing of regeneration and hrenewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he ipoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that jbeing justified by his grace we might become kheirs laccording to the hope of eternal life. The saying is mtrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful nto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But oavoid foolish pcontroversies, qgenealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for rthey are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, safter warning him once and then twice, thave nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

12 When I send Artemas or uTychicus to you, do your best to come to me vat Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and wApollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn xto devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not ybe unfruitful.

15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

zGrace be with you all.