1 Timothy 1:4

1:4 nor to occupy themselves with myths and interminable genealogies. ¹  Such things promote useless speculations rather than God’s redemptive plan ²  that operates by faith.

1 Timothy 1:13

1:13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant ³  man. But I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief,

1 Timothy 6:5

6:5 and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness ⁴  is a way of making a profit.

1 Timothy 1:16

1:16 But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that ⁵  in me as the worst, ⁶  Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life.

¹ 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).

² tc A few Western mss (D* latt Ir) read οἰκοδομήν (oikodomhn, “[God’s] edification”) rather than οἰκονομίαν (oikonomian, “[God’s] redemptive plan”), which is read by the earliest and best witnesses.

³ tn Or “violent,” “cruel.”

⁵ tc Although most witnesses, including some early versions and fathers (D² Ψ Ï sy Cyp Lcf Ambst), have ἀφίστασο ἀπὸ τῶν τοιούτων (afistaso apo’ twn toioutwn, “stay away from such things!”) after εὐσεβείαν (eusebeian, “godliness”; thus, “who suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit; stay away from such things!”), there seems to be little good reason for this clause’s omission in some of the oldest and best witnesses (א A D* F G 048 6 33 81 1175 1739 1881 lat co). It is likely that it crept into the text early, perhaps as a marginal comment, but it should not be considered authentic in light of the strong external evidence against it.

⁷ tn Grk “but because of this I was treated with mercy, so that…”

⁸ tn Grk “in me first,” making the connection with the last phrase of v. 15.