¹From Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by command of God our saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ our hope, ²to Timothy, a genuine child in faith, grace, mercy and peace from God our father and Christ Jesus our Lord. ³I write in the vein of when I appealed to you to stay on in Ephesus, when I was on my way to Macedonia, in order that you might command some not to teach extraneous doctrines, ⁴nor to heed fables or interminable genealogies, which give rise to disputes rather than a dispensation of God in faith. ⁵And the goal of the commandment is love from a pure heart and a clear conscience and unfeigned faith, ⁶from which things some have deviated and have turned away to idle talk, ⁷wanting to be teachers of the law, but understanding neither what they say nor things pertaining to what they assert. ⁸And we know that the law is good, if a person uses it legitimately, ⁹knowing this, that the law has not been instituted for a righteous person, but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the irreverent and profane, for those who commit patricide and matricide, for murderers, ¹⁰for fornicators, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and anything else there might be contrary to sound doctrine, ¹¹according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. ¹²And I am thankful to him who empowered me, to Christ Jesus our Lord, in that he considered me faithful and appointed me to a ministry, ¹³me, who was formerly a blasphemer and persecutor and an impudent person, but I received mercy, because I acted in ignorance and unbelief, ¹⁴and the grace of our Lord superabounded with faith, and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶But I received mercy on account of this: that in me first Jesus Christ should show all longsuffering, as a model for those who will believe in him, resulting in age-abiding life. ¹⁷Now to the king of the ages, indefectible, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory throughout the durations of the ages. Amen. ¹⁸I commit this command to you, Timothy, my child, according to the prophecies which have led in your direction, that by means of them you should fight the good fight, ¹⁹having faith and a clear conscience, which some have rejected, and they have suffered shipwreck in respect of their faith, ²⁰among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan in order that they may be taught not to blaspheme.