Paul’s Greeting to Timothy

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

²To Timothy, my true child in the faith:Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Correcting False Teachers

³As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines

⁴or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.

⁵The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.

⁶Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk.

⁷They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

⁸Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately.

⁹We 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,

¹⁰for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave tradersand liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

¹¹that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

God’s Grace to Paul

¹²I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service.

¹³I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.

¹⁴And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

¹⁶But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸Timothy, 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,

¹⁹holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith.

²⁰Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

Paul’s Greeting to Timothy

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

²To Timothy, my beloved child:Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Faithfulness under Persecution

³I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers.

⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.

⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced is in you as well.

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear,but of power, love, and self-control.

⁸So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

⁹He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

¹⁰And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel,

¹¹to which I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.

¹²For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Himfor that day.

Holding to Sound Teaching

¹³Hold on to the pattern of sound teachingyou have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Guard the treasure entrusted to you,with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

¹⁵You know that everyone in the Province of Asiahas deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.

¹⁷Indeed, when he arrived in Rome, he searched diligently until he found me.

¹⁸May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to me in Ephesus.

Paul’s Greeting to Titus

¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

³In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.

⁴To Titus, my true child in our common faith:Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Appointing Elders on Crete

⁵The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

⁶An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife,having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.

⁷As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.

⁸Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

⁹He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

Correcting False Teachers

¹⁰For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,

¹¹who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

¹²As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

¹³This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith

¹⁴and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

¹⁶They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

I Will Sing of His Love Forever

¹I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever;with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.

²For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever;in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”

³You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one,I have sworn to David My servant:

⁴‘I will establish your offspring foreverand build up your throne for all generations.’”Selah

⁵The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—Your faithfulness as well—in the assembly of the holy ones.

⁶For who in the skies can compare with the LORD?Who among the heavenly beingsis like the LORD?

⁷In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared,and awesome above all who surround Him.

⁸O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.

⁹You rule the raging sea;when its waves mount up, You still them.

¹⁰You crushed Rahab like a carcass;You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹The heavens are Yours, and also the earth.The earth and its fullness You founded.

¹²North and south You created;Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

¹³Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand.Your right hand is exalted.

¹⁴Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

¹⁵Blessed are those who know the joyful sound,who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.

¹⁶They rejoice in Your name all day long,and in Your righteousness they exult.

¹⁷For You are the glory of their strength,and by Your favor our horn is exalted.

¹⁸Surely our shield belongs to the LORD,and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹You once spoke in a vision;to Your godly ones You said,“I have bestowed help on a warrior;I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰I have found My servant David;with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

²¹My hand will sustain him;surely My arm will strengthen him.

²²No enemy will exact tribute;no wicked man will oppress him.

²³I will crush his foes before himand strike down those who hate him.

²⁴My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him,and through My name his horn will be exalted.

²⁵I will set his hand over the sea,and his right hand upon the rivers.

²⁶He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,my God, the Rock of my salvation.’

²⁷I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn,the highest of the kings of the earth.

²⁸I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him,and My covenant with him will stand fast.

²⁹I will establish his line forever,his throne as long as the heavens endure.

³⁰If his sons forsake My lawand do not walk in My judgments,

³¹if they violate My statutesand fail to keep My commandments,

³²I will attend to their transgression with the rod,and to their iniquity with stripes.

³³But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him,nor ever betray My faithfulness.

³⁴I will not violate My covenantor alter the utterance of My lips.

³⁵Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness—I will not lie to David—

³⁶his offspring shall endure forever,and his throne before Me like the sun,

³⁷like the moon, established forever,a faithful witness in the sky.”Selah

³⁸Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him;You are enraged by Your anointed one.

³⁹You have renounced the covenant with Your servantand sullied his crown in the dust.

⁴⁰You have broken down all his walls;You have reduced his strongholds to rubble.

⁴¹All who pass by plunder him;he has become a reproach to his neighbors.

⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his foes;You have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³You have bent the edge of his swordand have not sustained him in battle.

⁴⁴You have ended his splendorand cast his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵You have cut short the days of his youth;You have covered him with shame.Selah

⁴⁶How long, O LORD?Will You hide Yourself forever?Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?

⁴⁷Remember the briefness of my lifespan!For what futility You have created all men!

⁴⁸What man can live and never see death?Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?Selah

⁴⁹Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old,which You faithfully swore to David?

⁵⁰Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants,which I bear in my heart from so many people—

⁵¹how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD,and have mocked every step of Your anointed one!

⁵²Blessed be the LORD forever!Amen and amen.