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 1:17

1:17 Now to the eternal king, ⁵  immortal, invisible, the only ⁶  God, be honor and glory forever and ever! ⁷  Amen.

1 Timothy 3:5

3:5 But if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for the church of God?

1 Timothy 6:11

6:11 But you, as a person dedicated to God, ⁸  keep away from all that. ⁹  Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.

[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.

[1:17]  ⁵ tn Or more literally, “king of the ages.”

[1:17]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “unto the ages of the ages,” an emphatic way of speaking about eternity in Greek.

[6:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “O man of God.”

[6:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “flee these things.”