1 This letter comes from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus appointed by the authority of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who is our hope. 2 I'm sending it to you Timothy. You are my true son because of your trust in God. May you have grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 When I was on my way to Macedonia I asked you to stay behind in Ephesus, so that you could speak with those who teach false ideas and insist that they stop. 4 They shouldn't concern themselves with legends and never-ending obsessions about ancestry. Such ideas only lead to pointless debates, instead of understanding God as we trust in him. 5 The reason why I insist on this is so we may have love that comes from a pure heart, from a clear conscience and sincere trust in God. 6 Some have deviated from these things, and have ended up talking nonsense. 7 They have ambitions to be teachers of the law, but they have no idea what they're talking about or what they're so boldly announcing! 8 Now we recognize that the law is good if people use it properly. 9 We also know that law isn't laid down for those who do what is good and right, but for those who are rebellious and ignore the law. It applies to people who have no use for God, who are sinful, who treat nothing as holy and are completely irreligious. It's for those who kill fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for those who are sexually immoral, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, false witnesses—and anything else that's opposed to good teachings 11 as determined by the wonderful good news of our blessed God which he entrusted to me. 12 I'm just so grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord for the strength he's given me, and that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to work for him. 13 Even though I used to insult God, and persecuted and abused God's people, God showed me mercy because of my ignorance and unbelief. 14 Our Lord in his grace filled me to overflowing with trust and love that comes from Christ Jesus. 15 You can trust this saying that everyone should accept: “Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners,” and I'm the worst of them. 16 For this reason I was shown mercy—since I'm the worst sinner, Jesus Christ could demonstrate his infinite patience as an example to those who choose to trust in him and gain eternal life. 17 Honor and glory forever and ever to the eternal King, the immortal, invisible, and only God! Amen. 18 These are the instructions I want to give to you, Timothy, my son, following the prophecies that brought you this far, so you can fight the good fight! 19 Keep on trusting God and make sure you have a clear conscience. Some have refused to do this and have shipwrecked their trust in God. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are such people, and I have “handed them over to Satan” to teach them not to misrepresent God.
1 Timothy · Free Bible Version
1 Timothy 1 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Alexander
A coppersmith who did Paul great harm; a man of the same name was also handed over to Satan with Hymenaeus, possibly the same person.
Cited in the guide: 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 4:14
Hymenaeus
A man who shipwrecked his faith; Paul handed him over to Satan to learn not to blaspheme, and he taught that the resurrection had already happened.
Cited in the guide: 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 2:17
Cross references (20)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Titus 1:3; Colossians 1:27; Acts 9:15; Jude 25; Galatians 1:1
- 2 Titus 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:2; 1 Corinthians 4:14–17; Philippians 2:19–22; Acts 16:1–3
- 3 1 Timothy 6:3; Galatians 1:6–7; 2 John 9–10; Titus 1:9–11; 2 John 7
- 4 1 Timothy 4:7; Titus 1:14; Titus 3:9; 2 Timothy 4:4; 2 Peter 1:16
- 5 1 Timothy 1:19; Galatians 5:22; 2 Timothy 2:22; Galatians 5:13–14; 2 Timothy 1:5
- 6 Titus 1:10; 2 Timothy 2:23–24; Titus 3:9; 1 Timothy 6:20–21; 1 Timothy 5:15
- 7 Romans 1:22; 2 Peter 2:12; 1 Timothy 6:4; Galatians 3:5; Galatians 5:3–4
- 8 Romans 7:12–13; Romans 7:16; Psalm 19:7–10; 2 Timothy 2:5; Galatians 3:21
- 9 Galatians 3:19; 1 Peter 4:18; Romans 5:20; Galatians 3:10–14; Galatians 5:23
- 10 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Leviticus 18:22; 2 Timothy 4:3; Romans 1:26; Galatians 5:19–21
- 11 Galatians 2:7; Titus 1:3; 1 Timothy 6:15; Romans 2:16; 2 Corinthians 4:4
- 12 Philippians 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:17; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10; Colossians 1:25; Philippians 2:11
- 13 Acts 8:3; Hebrews 6:4–8; 1 Peter 2:10; 2 Peter 2:21–22; Acts 9:13
- 14 2 Timothy 1:13; Ephesians 1:7–8; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 1 Peter 1:3; 2 Corinthians 13:14
- 15 Mark 2:17; Luke 19:10; John 3:16–17; John 12:47; John 1:12
- 16 1 Timothy 1:13; Ephesians 2:7; Psalm 25:11; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 5:11–12
- 17 Ephesians 3:20–21; Jude 25; 1 Timothy 6:15–16; Revelation 19:1; Revelation 17:14
- 18 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:1–3; 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:1–5; 2 Corinthians 10:3–4
- 19 1 Timothy 3:9; Revelation 3:10; 1 Peter 3:15–16; 1 Timothy 6:9; Titus 1:9
- 20 1 Corinthians 5:4–5; 1 Corinthians 11:32; 2 Timothy 2:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:15; Revelation 3:19
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
[The R.V. omits kuriouand translates: Christ Jesus our hope, tes elpidos hemon.] 1. Great and admirable is the dignity of an Apostle, and we find Paul constantly setting forth the causes of it, not as if he took the honor to himself, but as intrusted with it, and being under the necessity of so doing.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 13 (1889)
Inasmuch as certain men have set the truth aside, and bring in lying words and vain genealogies, which, as the apostle says, "minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith," and by means of their craftily-constructed plausibilities draw away the minds of the inexperienced and take them captive, [I have felt constrained, my dear friend, to compose the …
He would not be long with us, yet left us not; for He departed thither, whence He never departed, because "the world was made by Him." And in this world He was, and into this world He came to save sinners, unto whom my soul doth confess, that He may heal it, for it hath sinned against Him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
… of vipers." For that animal too is said to destroy the mother that is in travail with her, and eating through her belly, thus to come forth unto light; which kind of thing these men also did being "murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers," and destroying their instructors with their own hands.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
But the grace of God was exceeding abundant in me.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)