First Letter to Timothy

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and Christ Jesus our hope;

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

As I exhorted you to stay at Ephesus when I was going into Macedonia, that you might charge certain men not to teach a different doctrine,

neither to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God's stewardship, which is in faith --

but the end of the charge is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith;

from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned aside to vain talking;

desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor about what they strongly affirm.

But we know that the law is good, if a man uses it lawfully,

as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine;

according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service;