1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God our Savior and of the Lord Jesus Christ our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines 4 or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith. 5 The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. 6 Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert. 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9 We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching 11 that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. 12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service. 13 I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. 14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Jesus Christ might display all His patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 18 Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
1 Timothy · Majority Standard Bible
1 Timothy 1 Majority Standard Bible
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)