1 Paul, an ^aapostle of Christ Jesus ^bby command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our ^chope,

2 To Timothy, ^dmy true child in the faith:

^eGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 ^fAs I urged you ^gwhen I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to ^hteach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to ⁱmyths and endless ^jgenealogies, which promote ^kspeculations rather than the ^lstewardship¹ from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is ^mlove that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a ⁿsincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by ^oswerving from these, have ^pwandered away into ^qvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, ^rwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

8 Now we know that ^sthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, ^tfor the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for ^uthose who strike their fathers and mothers, for ^vmurderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, ^wenslavers,² liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to ^xsound³ doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the ^yblessed God with which I have been ^zentrusted.

12 ^aI thank him who has given me ^bstrength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^cappointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^dpersecutor, and insolent opponent. But I ^ereceived mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me ^fwith the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 ^gThe saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that ^hChrist Jesus came into the world to save sinners, ⁱof whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received ^jmercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an ^kexample to those who were to ^lbelieve in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, ^mimmortal, ⁿinvisible, the ^oonly God, be honor and glory forever and ever.⁴ Amen.

18 This charge I ^pentrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ^qthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the ^rgood ^swarfare, 19 ^tholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made ^ushipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are ^vHymenaeus and ^wAlexander, whom I have ^xhanded over to Satan that they may learn not to ^yblaspheme.