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.

2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are ⁱbrothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

Teach and urge ^jthese things. 3 If anyone ^kteaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the ^lsound¹ words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching ^mthat accords with godliness, 4 he is ⁿpuffed up with conceit and ^ounderstands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for ^pcontroversy and for ^qquarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are ^rdepraved in mind and deprived of the truth, ^simagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But ^tgodliness with ^ucontentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and² we ^vcannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But ^wthose who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a ^xsnare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ^yplunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.