1:1 From Paul, 1 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior 2 and of Christ Jesus our hope, 1:2 to Timothy, my genuine child in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!
1:3 As I urged you when I was leaving for Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus 3 to instruct 4 certain people not to spread false teachings, 5 1:4 nor to occupy themselves with myths and interminable genealogies. 6 Such things promote useless speculations rather than God’s redemptive plan 7 that operates by faith. 1:5 But the aim of our instruction 8 is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. 9 1:6 Some have strayed from these and turned away to empty discussion. 1:7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or the things they insist on so confidently. 10
1:8 But we know that the law is good if someone uses it legitimately, 1:9 realizing that law 11 is not intended for a righteous person, but for lawless and rebellious people, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 1:10 sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, 12 kidnappers, liars, perjurers – in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching. 1:11 This 13 accords with the glorious gospel of the blessed God 14 that was entrusted to me. 15
1:12 I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, 1:13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant 16 man. But I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, 1:14 and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus. 17 1:15 This saying 18 is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” – and I am the worst of them! 19
1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
2 sn God our Savior. Use of the title “Savior” for God the Father is characteristic of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. It occurs six times in these letters, but only twice elsewhere in the NT. However, it occurs commonly in the OT, especially in Isaiah. It emphasizes the Father as the initiator and source of salvation.
3 map For location see JP1-D2; JP2-D2; JP3-D2; JP4-D2.
4 tn This word implies authoritative instruction: “direct, command, give orders” (cf. 1 Tim 4:11; 5:7; 6:13, 17). See BDAG 760 s.v. παραγγέλλω.
5 tn Grk “to teach other doctrines,” different from apostolic teaching (cf. 1 Tim 6:3).
6 sn Myths and interminable genealogies. These myths were legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 4:7; 2 Tim 4:4; and Titus 1:14. They were perhaps built by speculation from the patriarchal narratives in the OT; hence the connection with genealogies and with wanting to be teachers of the law (v. 7).
7 tc A few Western
8 tn Grk “the instruction,” referring to orthodox Christian teaching and ministry in general, in contrast to that of the false teachers mentioned in 1:3-4.
9 tn Grk “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
10 tn The Greek reinforces this negation: “understand neither what they are saying nor the things they insist on…”
11 sn Law. There is no definite article (“the”) with this word in Greek and so the inherent quality of the OT law as such is in view. But the OT law is still in mind, since the types of sinful people surveyed in vv. 9b-11a follow the general outline of sins prohibited in the Decalogue.
12 tn On this term BDAG 135 s.v. ἀρσενοκοίτης states, “a male who engages in sexual activity w. a pers. of his own sex, pederast 1 Cor 6:9…of one who assumes the dominant role in same-sex activity, opp. μαλακός…1 Ti 1:10; Pol 5:3. Cp. Ro 1:27.” L&N 88.280 states, “a male partner in homosexual intercourse – ‘homosexual.’…It is possible that ἀρσενοκοίτης in certain contexts refers to the active male partner in homosexual intercourse in contrast with μαλακός, the passive male partner” (cf. 1 Cor 6:9). Since there is a distinction in contemporary usage between sexual orientation and actual behavior, the qualification “practicing” was supplied in the translation, following the emphasis in BDAG.
13 tn A continuation of the preceding idea: Grk “teaching, according to the gospel.” This use of the law is in accord with the gospel entrusted to Paul (cf. Rom 7:7-16; Gal 3:23-26). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
14 tn Grk “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.”
15 tn Grk “with which I was entrusted.” The translation is more in line with contemporary English style.
16 tn Or “violent,” “cruel.”
17 tn Grk “with faith and love in Christ Jesus.”
18 tn Grk “the saying,” referring to the following citation (see 1 Tim 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11; Titus 3:8 for other occurrences of this phrase).
19 tn Grk “of whom I am the first.”