1 Timothy 1:1-2

Salutation

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 Timothy 1:4

1:4 nor to occupy themselves with myths and interminable genealogies. ³  Such things promote useless speculations rather than God’s redemptive plan ⁴  that operates by faith.

1 Timothy 1:10

1:10 sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, ⁵  kidnappers, liars, perjurers – in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching.

1 Timothy 1:14

1:14 and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus. ⁶ 

1 Timothy 1:17

1:17 Now to the eternal king, ⁷  immortal, invisible, the only ⁸  God, be honor and glory forever and ever! ⁹  Amen.

1 Timothy 1:20

1:20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan ¹⁰  to be taught not to blaspheme.

1 Timothy 2:8

2:8 So I want the men ¹¹  to pray ¹²  in every place, lifting up holy hands ¹³  without anger or dispute.

1 Timothy 3:13

3:13 For those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves ¹⁴  and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ 

1 Timothy 5:17-18

5:17 Elders who provide effective leadership ¹⁶  must be counted worthy ¹⁷  of double honor, ¹⁸  especially those who work hard in speaking ¹⁹  and teaching. 5:18 For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” ²⁰  and, “The worker deserves his pay.” ²¹ 

1 Timothy 5:23-24

5:23 (Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion ²²  and your frequent illnesses.) ²³  5:24 The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later. ²⁴ 

1 Timothy 6:5

6:5 and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness ²⁵  is a way of making a profit.

1 Timothy 6:20

Conclusion

6:20 O Timothy, protect what has been entrusted to you. Avoid ²⁶  the profane chatter and absurdities ²⁷  of so-called “knowledge.” ²⁸ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  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.

[1:4]  ³ 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).

[1:4]  ⁴ 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.

[1:10]  ⁵ 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.

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “with faith and love in Christ Jesus.”

[1:17]  ⁹ tn Or more literally, “king of the ages.”

[1:17]  ¹⁰ tc Most later witnesses (א² D¹ H^c Ψ 1881 Ï) have “wise” (σόφῳ, swfw) here (thus, “the only wise God”), while the earlier and better witnesses (א* A D* F G H* 33 1739 lat co) lack this adjective. Although it could be argued that the longer reading is harder since it does not as emphatically affirm monotheism, it is more likely that scribes borrowed σόφῳ from Rom 16:27 where μόνῳ σόφῳ θεῷ (monw sofw qew, “the only wise God”) is textually solid.

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “unto the ages of the ages,” an emphatic way of speaking about eternity in Greek.

[1:20]  ¹¹ sn The expression handed over to Satan refers to an act of discipline mentioned by Paul here and in 1 Cor 5:5, with a remedial goal, not a punitive one. The Greek word translated taught in this verse is used of “discipline, training of children” to lead them to correct behavior.

[2:8]  ¹³ tn The word translated “men” here (ἀνήρ, anhr) refers to adult males, not people in general. Note the command given to “the women” in v. 9.

[2:8]  ¹⁴ sn To pray. In this verse Paul resumes and concludes the section about prayer begun in 2:1-2. 1 Tim 2:3-7 described God’s concern for all people as the motive for such prayer.

[2:8]  ¹⁵ sn Paul uses a common ancient posture in prayer (lifting up holy hands) as a figure of speech for offering requests from a holy life (without anger or dispute).

[3:13]  ¹⁵ sn The statement those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves is reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching (Matt 20:26-28; Mark 10:43-45) that the one who wishes to be great must be a servant (διάκονος [diakonos], used here of deacons) of all, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve (διακονέω [diakonew], as in 1 Tim 3:10, 13).

[3:13]  ¹⁶ sn In the phrase the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the term faith seems to mean “what Christians believe, Christian truth,” rather than personal trust in Christ. So the whole phrase could mean that others will come to place greater confidence in them regarding Christian truth; but the word “confidence” is much more likely to refer to their own boldness to act on the truth of their convictions.

[5:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “who lead well.”

[5:17]  ¹⁸ tn Or “deserving.”

[5:17]  ¹⁹ tn Like the similar use of “honor” in v. 3, this phrase
denotes both respect and remuneration: “honor plus honorarium.”

[5:17]  ²⁰ tn Or “in preaching”; Grk “in word.”

[5:18]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 25:4.

[5:18]  ²⁰ sn A quotation from Luke 10:7.

[5:23]  ²¹ tn Grk “for the sake of your stomach.”

[5:23]  ²² sn This verse gives parenthetical advice to Timothy, to clarify what it means to keep pure (5:22c). Verse 24 resumes the instructions about elders.

[5:24]  ²³ tn Grk “they [the sins] follow after others.”

[6:5]  ²⁵ 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.

[6:20]  ²⁷ tn Grk “avoiding.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:20]  ²⁸ tn Or “contradictions.”

[6:20]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the falsely named knowledge.”